A Japanese Scheherazade
by devixenrox85
Summary: Naruto wasn't expecting an impromptu time travel trip today! See how she will handle a ancient king by telling stories... FemNaruxSasu; NarutoxArabian Nights crossover; Rated M for violence/swearing
1. A Vizier's thoughts

**Summary: Naruto was just walking around, minding her own business while on a field trip at the Konoha museum. But after activating a centuries-old spell, she is sent back to an ancient kingdom with no idea how to get home. And to really make the situation worse, she has caught the eye of a king who disposes of his wives execution-style. How will Naruto preserve her life? Let's just say good stories go a long way…**

**Author's Note: I have had the idea of a **_**NarutoxArabian Nights **_**crossover ever since I came across a SasuxNaru fanfic named **_**Arabian Nights**_** by bellabambina248. My story isn't really based off of hers, but I felt the need to credit her; she did inspire me, after all. This isn't necessary my first fanfic; I have another called **_**Snow Photographs**_**. However, just because Snow Photographs is my first fanfic does not mean it will be posted first.**

**Also, for this fic, I will have to do a lot of research on ancient Persia. So don't be surprised if I don't update every month. Don't even be surprised if I don't update for a year or more; I'm in college on workstudy, damnit!**

**Warning: FemNaru, AU, possible OOC-ness, violence/swearing**

**Disclaimer: This story? Mine. The laptop I'm writing on? Mine. **_**Naruto**_**? Psh, I wish. **

'_Italics' _– Thoughts

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

_**A Japanese Scheherazade**_

**Prologue**

The blade of the sword was long and narrow, with a slight curve. If one was in a poetic mood, they could aptly describe it as a silver cobra fang. And while the blade didn't strike its victim to die a slow and painful death, her dispatch to the afterlife was quick and fluid.

The girl, having been blinded by the cloth around her eyes, did not see the gray flash and metallic glint of light which signaled the blade approaching her slim neck. But she did feel its razor edge cutting into her skin, starting the unstoppable flow of blood to spill onto her body, clothes, and the floor she kneeled on. The pain only stopped once her head was cleanly separated from her body, which sagged onto the floor and into a growing pool of blood.

'_And so another one departs this life for the next',_ the executioner mused. '_May your soul find peace wherever it goes…'_

He then called to the two servants standing by in the room.

" Juugo! Suigetsu! "

The two servants walked toward the man with quick strides; then they bowed before him as they asked, "Yes, vizier Kakashi?"

"Take her body outside for burial. Then find palace maidens to clean this room while I take the head to his Majesty", Kakashi announced.

"Yes, vizier Kakashi!"

The two then walked towards the body and, after carefully wrapping her body with linen cloth, carried it out of the room.

Kakashi sighed, picked the head up, and then exited in search of the king. _If this keeps up, then there won't be any eligible girls left_, he thought. The poor girl he had just dispatched earlier was not the first, and likely, nor was she the last. For months now, the king has been marrying young virgins, only to execute them the next day. The reason for this was simple, or at least easily labeled: infidelity. A part of Kakashi didn't blame the king for acting this way. To come home and find your wife with another man in bed would upset and enrage any man. But it was especially upsetting for the type of person the king was; a man who loathe others to touch anything they felt was theirs, including people.

His queen's betrayal led to serious consequences; she and her lover were immediately executed, while the king began the cycle of wedding and beheading young virgins. Nowadays there were whole families fleeing the kingdom to save their unmarried daughters. And once the surrounding countries caught wind of what was happening, they refused to send anymore girls over.

Kakashi knew that he could not blame the deceased queen for everything that was now happening; she wasn't personally killing hapless virgins and straining their diplomatic relations with other countries. But there was a small part of him that couldn't help cursing her for this mess; why did she let her meaningless bout of passion destroy the peace of the kingdom? Did she not even think about how her actions could affect her husband?

Obviously not; if she did, she wouldn't have had the affair in the first place. And if she had stop to think about how his majesty received his position, then thoughts of adultery would have never crossed her mind at all.

Sasuke Uchiha, the present king, did not inherit his position through peaceful events. After the former vizier's betrayal lead to the deaths of almost all of the royal family members, Sasuke alone was left to shoulder the burden of being a king. The contrast of his personality before and after the betrayal was startling. Gone was the happy boy who was filled with love for his family; in his place was a cold monarch who grew colder with each passing day. Kakashi wished he could have done something to make Sasuke less grim or more compassionate; there were many sleepless nights where he cursed himself for not making the extra effort of becoming a role model for Sasuke.

But progress can only be made if both sides cooperate. And ever since his family's massacre, Sasuke withdrew into himself; he never displayed emotions aside from indifference, and only interacted with others on matters concerning the kingdom's welfare.

Truthfully, Kakashi had no idea if there was anyone who could change Sasuke for the better. It had been over eight years since the massacre, and nobody that Sasuke came in contact with seemed to have sparked a jolt of life into him. He began to wonder if there was anything in this world who could help Sasuke.

Kakashi then broke out of his thoughts once he noticed the doors to the throne room in front of his face. '_I must have been walking nonstop the entire time…' _

As he continued to stare at the doors, the vizier couldn't help but hope for something to happen. He hoped for something – or someone – to come along and change Sasuke for the better. _'Please let them have the strength to deal with whatever Sasuke put them through. Please let them have the __**heart**__ to accept Sasuke for who he is.'_

Kakashi then swiftly knocked on the doors to get them to open. Once they did, he swept into the room to speak with his king.

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

**Alright, the prologue is done! This fic will be a multi-chapter one, so stay tuned. If you are upset with not seeing Naruto, don't worry; she'll show up next chapter. Please read and review.**


	2. Running Late

Author's Note: Hello again, my duckies! Here is Chapter 1 of _A Japanese Scheherazade_. I would like to thank all the people who decided to take the time to read and review this fic; you guys deserve a pat on the back!

Now that we have reached Chapter 1, we finally get to see Naruto! Sorry if you didn't like the Kakashi-centric prologue, but I wanted to get some background on the situation Naruto will find herself in. Without giving too much away, this chapter will focus a lot on Naruto's life in Konoha, which I have placed in Japan for this fic. Her last name won't be Uzumaki because both of her parents will be alive. You also see some other family members… but I'm not telling you anymore! You'll have to read on to see.

And for any of you guys who are complaining about late updates, I've got two words for you; _**Organic Chemistry**_. I know this update is pretty much over-due, but please understand that, as a poor college student, I have priorities other than fan fiction. But I do understand your impatience, so rest assured.

All righty; now that my rant is over, it's time to get this show on the road!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Naruto. You hear that, Kishimoto? Not a single. Damn. Thing. I also do not own _Arabian Nights_ or any of the folktales Naruto will tell in this story. Forgot to mention that in the prologue…

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

**A Japanese Scheherazade**

Chapter One

Golden sunlight spread all across the land, bathing it in its morning glow. The rays would chase away the remnants of the night as the sun climbed higher and higher. After the darkness faded into nothing but mere shadows, the rays began to caress each and every living thing they came across. No matter where a person or animal were, or how deep in slumber they were in. Once the sunlight began to work its magic on them, they would stir and begin to greet the day.

Yes, nothing was exempt from the sun's daily wake-up routine. There was always those stubborn enough, however, that tried to ignore it. That was definitely the case once the sunlight hit a certain bedroom of a certain house. It was a good-sized room; not too large, yet having enough space to move around. The room did seem smaller, however, with the amount of personal belongings piled up. The shadows from last night were still lingering, dimming the otherwise bright colors; though with the curtains open, they were still a lighter shade of their original colors.

The golden rays crept into the room from the window and began their job of shaping the shadows. After they properly cowed their opposites, the rays turned their attention towards the large orange-colored bulge on top of the bed. The bulge had already been touched when they had streamed in from the window earlier. Seeing as that didn't affect it, the sunlight began using firmer caresses on it. The caresses grew stronger with each passing moment, yet the bulge wouldn't move an inch.

Suddenly, a shrill beeping erupted from the room. The cacophonous melody was emerging from a surprisingly tiny digital alarm clock, which seemed to fully support the sun rays' efforts of making whatever was in bed move. And it seemed to work: the bulge began to wiggle around on the bed, all while low sounds akin to groans joined the alarm clock's cries. After some more wiggling, the orange blanket started to slip off whatever was making the bulge.

The blanket first uncovered a large mass of golden hair which shined liked a beacon once the sunlight hit it. The hair was the only identifiable trait at first – until a long, slender arm draped in tan skin shot from underneath. At first the arm seemed to blindly flop around in the air, changing its position every few flaps. But then it slapped the wood of the bedside dresser. It tensed up all of a sudden, as if recognizing what it had just slammed into. The arm began to pat down the dresser a few times to confirm its identity. After confirmation, the arm flailed wildly, never stopping until it hit the alarm clock's snooze button – effectively shutting it up.

After the shrill melody stopped, the bulge released a sigh, withdrew its arm, and snuggled back into the bed. Without the alarm clock warbling away, it was much easier for what was under the blankets to try to fall back asleep. The rays of sunshine tried their best to get it to rise, but it's hard trying to get someone up once they hide back under the covers. So it seemed that whatever made the bulge would get away with sleeping all day.

However, no sooner had the bulge still did the bedroom door slowly opened. A large, blurry shadow then sped through the door crack. Landing softly on the carpet, it inched closer and closer to the bed, silent footsteps going unnoticed. The figure loomed over the bed, grasped the covers, and slowly peeled them back to reveal what lied underneath. Finally, they took in a huge amount of breath- then let it all out as a loud, sound barrier-breaking call of "Naruto Namikaze! Get your butt out of bed this instant!"

Not only did Naruto jumped and fell out of bed with a yelp, all the birds within a 5-mile radius immediately vacated the area.

Once she got over the pain flaring from where her back made contact with the floor, Naruto opened her cerulean blue eyes – which were such a vivid shade that could put the sky to shame – to search for the one responsible for her rude awakening. When Naruto's gaze found who she was looking for, she promptly announced her annoyance.

"Mom, you could have just waked me up without _yelling!_" Naruto whined.

The older woman just rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. Despite Naruto looking very much like her father, she was very much like her mother; a vivacious beauty who lives life to the fullest. Though just because Naruto was the human equivalent of a ball of sunshine didn't mean she was a morning person…

"Well, you're up now, aren't you? Now get up and get dressed, little missy. Otherwise you'll be late for school." Kushina then left the room, though not without shooting Naruto a pointed look.

After her mother's departure, Naruto simply sighed while scratching her head. "One of these days I got to wake up on time. My butt can only take so much abuse…" With that in mind, she strode towards the wardrobe to get dressed.

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

"Honestly, what is taking Naruto so long? At this rate she'll be late for school!"

Kushina began to pace around the kitchen, the open floor plan providing more than enough space for her worried actions. Occasionally she would stop to straighten out some of the pots and pans still left out, or to glance out in the direction of the stairs. But these moments were quite short; as soon as she stopped fussing with the cookware, or averted her gaze away from the stairs, she would immediately start pacing again; wearing out both the floor and her patience with Naruto.

Now, Kushina was not what many would call a helicopter mom; she didn't hover over her children and constantly pressure them to get straight A's in school and always perform flawlessly. It didn't mean she didn't care about their performance in school; she simply felt that forcing and expecting a child to always get A's in all areas of school would backfire badly. And still remembering her own high school days, Kushina was willing to cut her daughter some slack every now and then.

The reason that Kushina was so anxious today was because of what was in store for Naruto at Shinobi Private High School. Iruka Umino, Naruto's history/homeroom teacher and a close family friend, had gotten his classes field trip approved by the school board. And the location of the field place was a building near and dear to her heart: the Konoha museum, which was currently hosting an extraordinary exhibit on a long-lost Middle Eastern culture.

Kushina couldn't wait for her daughter to see the new exhibit. While she was well aware that Naruto probably won't look at everything in the exhibit (her short attention span is not new to her mother), she just knew Naruto would love one certain part of the exhibit…

'… _A certain part she may never know if doesn't get down her soon!'_ lamented Kushina to herself and began picking up the pace. If the poor floor wasn't scuffed before, it was certainly scuffed now.

"Don't worry, Kushina. Naruto will be down here shortly."

Kushina jumped a couple feet in the air when she heard that calm statement. Abruptly spinning in the direction where the voice came from, she immediately relaxed when she saw who it was. "Oh Minato, don't do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Minato gave his wife an apologetic (but secretly very amused) smile and said, "I'm sorry Kushina, but if only you could have seen the look on your face… it reminded me of how Iruka used to fuss over Naruto when she was six." Kushina pouted and gave a weak glare towards her husband. While his confession did bring back fond memories of a mother-hen Iruka _('come to think of it, he __**still**__ acts that way…'_), but, to her, it was nowhere near an accurate description of how she was feeling just now. "Mou Minato, I wasn't spazzing out. I was just waiting for her to come down."

"So you normally walk in circles and mumble while waiting for her?" Minato questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Kushina quickly turned tomato-red, a color she loathed since she moved from Uzushio and experienced Konoha's bullies in elementary school (the bullies came to regret it in the end; no young boy likes to get the snot beat out of them by a girl), but decided to concede defeat. "Okay, so I was a _little_ nervous. But I really don't want Naruto to be late today! Iruka is going to tell everyone about the field trip today!"

Chuckling softly, Minato walked up to his wife and gently took her hands into his own. Once Kushina looked up to see his face, he simply said, "Just because Naruto's running a little late doesn't mean she won't find out. Besides the trip is a month away from now; it's not like Naruto wouldn't find out for a month."

Properly pacified, Kushina sighed and said, "I know; but I'm just so excited for her! You know how much work I put in at the museum to make this exhibit open to the public. And I'm sure that Naruto will enjoy that one display…" Having double-majored in Archeology and Anthropology, Kushina eventually got the job as a curator at the Konoha museum. So her excitement over her daughter seeing the fruits of her labor was perfectly understandable to her husband. "And she'll be thrilled when she sees it **next** month. Now, how about we relax and sit down until she's here?" Minato asked.

"All right," Kushina sighed while walking towards the table, "But if Naruto isn't down here in five minutes, you're the one who will have to drag her over here. She'd better not had gone to sleep again…" Minato just laughed and countered, "You know as well as I do that Naruto is the type of person who, once woken up, will stay awake for hours."

And as if to prove Minato's point, the couple heard a flurry of footsteps coming from the direction of the stairs; they got louder and louder, until a yellow blur shot through the kitchen and tackled the two adults. But they were hardly surprised by the action; for as they were being tackled, the blur greeted them with a loud, cheery shot of "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Naruto," Minato replied amiably, "I thought you wouldn't make it downstairs in time for breakfast."

"Hee hee, sorry Dad," his daughter sheepishly said, "But I had some trouble with tying the ribbon on my uniform." Naruto reiterated her excuse by pointing towards the pitiful looking piece of fabric around her shirt collar.

"Really Naruto, you need to learn how to tie it properly. You are a second-year already…" Kushina sighed softly, but still helped to straighten it out; leaving Naruto's haphazardly-arranged pigtails to someone else to fix. While still anxious about getting her to school on time, she decided to follow Minato's silent advice and not make a big deal about it… at least for now. She then took Naruto by the hand and led her to the breakfast table, where everything was already laid out. "Now, hurry up and eat so you won't be late. And make sure you finish everything before you go!"

"Yeah, I got it Mom," Naruto replied while looking at what her mother set out. It was a typical Japanese breakfast: one bowl of steamed rice and another of miso soup, followed by some broiled fish and a plate of tamagoyaki. It was a nice set-up, but the absence of Naruto's favorite all-time food caused her to say, "Aw, no ramen today?"

"If you had gotten ready earlier, there would have been a bowl for you." As soon as the words left Kushina's mouth, Naruto deflated a little. "But if you eat all of your breakfast," Naruto began to perk up… "You can have ramen for lunch."

"Yes! Thank you, Mom!" And without further ado, Naruto launched into the food with gusto – oblivious to her parents' amused faces and half-hearted statements telling her to "Slow down," "Chew your food," or even "Breathe, please!"

In no time at all, Naruto finished breakfast, gave both of them a kiss on the cheek, and then raced towards the door while giving last-minute goodbyes.

After the front door closed, Minato and Kushina silently stared at each other for a few seconds before Kushina ventured a comment:

"I wonder where Naruto gets all of that energy from…"

"Hm, if my memory serves… Naruto is just as _energetic_ as you were at her age."

"That better be a compliment, Minato; otherwise it's the couch for you…"

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

Shinobi Private High was one of the better senior high schools in the Hi Prefecture; many of the students excelled in their studies as well as held positions of leadership in clubs or organizations. And while there were many students that came from prestigious and powerful families, a good portion of the student body were from more humble backgrounds. But all were accepted with the expectation that they would uphold the school rules and its reputation while in attendance.

The building was tall and immaculate, a noticeable piece of the background even with the vast amounts of nearby trees. Swarms of students were in front of the school engaged in all sorts of activities. Many of the girls grouped together to discuss concerns they deemed 'very important': the topics ranged from the latest fashions to the most attractive young men in the media. There were also – albeit smaller – groups of boys that talked about minor topics similar to the ones brought up by the girls; their conversations just focused more on sports and dirty magazines. And then there were the students who just sat off to the sidelines, patiently waiting for the bell to ring for homeroom.

There was one student, however, that didn't really seem to 'belong' in this light-hearted atmosphere. She stood by the front gate, watching every person who passed by with her mint-green eyes. When she noted that the person she was looking for still hadn't arrived, she just said in exasperation, "Sheesh, Naru. Would it _kill_ you to arrive early?"

Running her hand through pink strands of hair, the student couldn't help but think about how this routine she found herself in has lasted since middle school. She would always find herself arriving at school early to wait for her two best friends. And almost at the last minute, the two would come barreling down towards her before the gate closed. After a short scolding of her nearly-tardy friends, and some time taken to help her female friend straighten out her appearance, the trio would walk to homeroom. A strange routine – which invited no small amount of annoyance at times – but the routine was still one that she would always look forward to in the morning.

"Oi, Sakura!"

The brash voice rose above the din of the conversations flowing around her. But what caught her attention was not the volume of the call; rather, it was the familiarity of it that got her to turn her head around. Once the identity of the voice was confirmed by her sight, Sakura let loose a sigh of relief; then quickly followed up with "You're late, Naruto!"

Naruto stopped right in front of Sakura, unable to answer her friend right away because she was too busy trying to catch her breath from her earlier run. After getting back her breath, she promptly greeted her best female friend in her energetic, cheery fashion.

"Ohayo Sakura-chan! How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Naruto. Would you mind telling me why you're _late_ this morning?" Sakura questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"W-well, Sakura-chan – here's the thing. I _did_ wake up on time, thanks to both my mom and the alarm clock you gave me last Christmas; but I had a hard time getting ready because I was so sleepy." It was true; Naruto nearly conked out at least three times before going downstairs.

"Don't tell me you skipped breakfast again?" Sakura asked with worry in her tone. One of the main reasons why Sakura never got too annoyed at Naruto arriving late was that Naruto would always rush in order to keep a promise to meet with a friend. It didn't matter where she was or what she was currently doing; Naruto would wrap everything up as fast as she could before jetting to the meeting place. Nothing short of being really ill would stop her. And such a fact made Sakura both amused and worried. Amused at how much Naruto cared about her friendships to do such things; and worried by the very things she did – particularly choices that affected her _**health**_.

Hearing Sakura's concern, Naruto put on a reassuring grin and reassuringly said, "Don't worry, Sakura-chan. Mom made sure I ate everything at breakfast today. Actually, that's one of the reasons why I was rushing." After hearing her explanation, Sakura replied, "I'm glad to hear that. Oh, but there's one thing I have to ask you, Naruto."

"Hm? What is it?"

"Did you do your hair in the dark?" Sakura deadpanned while pointing at Naruto's long, scraggy locks.

"Aw man, Sakura-chan! You know I was rushing this morning!" Naruto complained while trying to tame her still bedhead-styled pigtails. "Just because you were trying to arrive on time doesn't mean you arrive looking like **that**," Sakura pointed out. "Frankly, I'm surprised that your hair is the _only _thing messy about your appearance."

"Well," Naruto chuckled sheepishly, "Mom _did_ fix up my ribbon before I left the house." Sakura just sighed, having already anticipated the response. She then took a hairbrush out of her schoolbag and motioned for the blonde to turn around. Naruto quickly complied, and helped out her friend further by removing her hair ties. With long, steady strokes, Sakura ran the brush through Naruto's hair, trying to create some order in the current state of chaos the strands were in. Occasionally she'd come across tangled patches of hair, causing Naruto to softly yelp out and plead for Sakura to be gentler.

"I would, Naruto, if you actually took the time to brush your hair _regularly_. Just be glad that there were only a few tangles." Naruto pouted at her answer, but decided to hold her tongue. Soon afterwards, Sakura asked for Naruto's hair ties, and put up her hair in a much neater set of pigtails on top of her head.

"Hmph, sometimes I wonder why I have such long hair anyway. Shorter hair would be better…"

"Naruto, don't make such a big decision like that!" scolded Sakura as she put away the brush.

"But Sakura-chan, it's true! Short hair is much more manageable than long hair! And didn't you start wearing your hair short in middle school?"

"Yes, Naruto, I did; but not before _three_ months of careful consideration. When a girl wants to change her hairstyle, she has to think it through and not just 'wing it'."

"Besides, there's always the possibility of you looking like a _boy_, Naruto."

Startled by the new voice in their conversation, Naruto and Sakura quickly turned around to see its owner. Once they realized who it was, the girls' surprise rapidly faded away and was replaced by fond exasperation.

"Kiba, don't scare us like that! And I would _not_ look like a boy, dog-breath!" Naruto shouted towards the brunet boy. The young man was definitely not your average high school student; he had shaggy brown hair, enlarged canines, as well as a tan a shade darker than that of Naruto's. But the most unusual feature was the pair of red fang tattoos on his cheeks. The tattoos became even more noticeable with the large grin on the teen's face, which was directed towards the slightly annoyed blonde.

"Sorry Naruto," Kiba began to tease, "But the only thing feminine thing about you is your long hair; otherwise people would think you were a cross-dresser."

"Damn it, Kiba! Say one more word, and I'll show _you_ a _**cross-dresser**_!" Naruto growled, displaying the infamous Uzumaki temper. Now to make one thing perfectly clear – Naruto and Kiba are best friends; have been ever since they met up with Sakura in kindergarten. The reason why she was implying (threatening) castration to her male friend was because he sometimes got under her skin. While he wasn't the most annoying boy she knew – no, there was someone else who fulfilled that position – he still can be annoying.

"Naruto! Calm down before you make a scene!" Sakura lowered Naruto's clenched fist before addressing Kiba. "Alright Kiba, why were you late _this_ time?"

"Well, you see, I was getting ready to leave, when Akama-"

A shrill ring interrupted Kiba in mid-explanation, signaling to the students to go to their homerooms. Sakura sighed and said, "Come on, guys; we better get going before Iruka-sensei says something. You can finish later, Kiba."

The two teenagers nodded in agreement, and then all three began to join their peers in entering the building.

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

Author's Note: Here's Chapter one! It was originally going to be longer, but I decided to make the second part the next chapter. Please read and review!


	3. Fights, Reunions, and Plots

**Author's Note: Hello, hello! It's me again! Now we are on chapter 2. Now, for those of you who don't know, this was supposed to be part of chapter 1. But I decided to post the current chapter 1 as a reward for everyone who has been waiting since January for an update. Thanks for being so patient, guys! Now that we've seen Naruto's parents and her friends, we'll see more people who greatly factor into her life. And we'll learn something new about Naruto…**

**Warnings: Some swearing; genderbent Naruto (meaning that he's a **_**girl**_** in this fiction), and teenagers being, well, **_**teenagers. **_**Don't like? **_**Don't read.**_

**Disclaimer: I will own **_**Naruto**_** when pigs sprout wings ****and**** fly!**

* * *

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

**A Japanese Scheherazade**

Chapter Two

Like on any typical school day, Class 2-D was chattering away and goofing off while waiting for homeroom to start. The conversations were the same as the ones held in the school yard beforehand; the only variation was that some students were using visual aids – photos, magazines and the like – to reiterate their point to their friends. But even with the noise caused by their fellow classmates surrounding them, Kiba Inuzuka was still able to hear Sakura Haruno's question.

"Alright, spill it Kiba. Why were you almost late this time?" she inquired with an annoyed edge to her tone. That alone froze Kiba in his seat. Sakura was never a girl to pull punches when she got really mad. It might be because of her short temper, or the fact she spent a lot of time around both Naruto's mother and godmother. If hell hath no fury than a woman scorned, a thousand hells hath no fury than a Sakura pissed off. And Kiba, a man with few fears, was nonetheless afraid of earning her wrath. "Well, I was getting ready to leave the house when Akamaru popped out of nowhere. He stole my shoe and played keep away so I couldn't leave. I had to chase him for about 30 minutes; by then I had to sprint to not be late for school."

"Really, Kiba, you have to control that dog of yours. How many times have you been nearly late because of him?" Man's best friend or not, obedience lessons would go a long way for those two.

"Oi, you know Akamaru is like my best friend! And I haven't been spending as much time with him as usual," Kiba defended.

Naruto pouted and looked at Kiba with her large cerulean eyes, "Hey, what does that make us? Day-old ramen?" As she said this, she leaned in closer to Kiba, letting him have the full effect of her puppy-dog eyes.

Seeing that look up close and personal, Kiba couldn't help but feel really flustered. "N-no, i-i-it's not l-like that… I-it's j-j-just…" This was definitely not a showcase of Kiba's sharp wit. He spluttered for all his worth, never taking his eyes off of her.

Naruto continued to stare at Kiba until his face became as red as his fang tattoos. And without any warning, she broke out in giggles, paying no mind to the startled teenagers nearby. When she finally managed to get ahold of herself, Naruto sent an apologetic grin to Kiba.

"Sorry, Kiba, but the look on your face was priceless!"

She knew that Akamaru was important to Kiba; those two have been together since Kiba was eight. Naruto just liked to tease Kiba over his rock-solid bond with the canine. And it wasn't often the dog boy got this bad.

Sakura just sighed as she looked between the two. It looked like Naruto didn't realize the reason why Kiba acted so out of sorts when she unknowingly flirted with him. _Honestly, how dense can she be…?_

But before Kiba could gather his wits, the door opened and someone walked in. When the class realized who it was, the class representative immediately began the daily routine. He and the other students rose and bowed while greeting who came in.

"Good morning, Iruka-sensei!"

"Good morning, class. You may be seated." The brunet teacher crossed the room towards his desk and further addressed them. "Now before I start class, I would like to make an announcement. After much discussion, the school board has approved of the location for the world history field trip next month. We will be going to the Konoha museum."

The class immediately reacted, and most of the students made their thoughts clear. Why did they have to go to the Konoha museum for their field trip? Sure, the overseas trips were seniors only, but couldn't they go somewhere else? Someplace like Tokyo, Kyoto, or Nara? Or maybe another large city of Mizu, Kaze, Rai, or Tsuchi prefectures? They may not have a lot of world history, but neither did Konoha.

As the students' complaints piled on, Iruka's patience became shorter and shorter. Finally, Iruka had no choice but to silence the natives with a deafening roar. "Alright, shut up right now!" Any other further comments were thereafter silenced. There was a good reason why Iruka never lost control of his class: he had a way of making any trouble-maker stop with their shenanigans. His primary way of intimidation (roaring with his head enlarged to the size of an elephant) helped too.

"Before you guys say anything else, let me explain why the museum was chosen." Taking in the continued silence and judging it as compliance, Iruka pressed on. "Now as some of you may recall from the syllabus I handed out at the beginning of the year, the goal of this class is to not only learn the backgrounds of countries globally known, but also of areas that have received very little and/or biased media coverage. Our current unit focuses on the Middle East, from ancient Mesopotamia to current political tensions. Recently, a team of archeologists sponsored by an eccentric millionaire found something on the border between Iraq and Iran. They uncovered an ancient city that belongs to an unknown civilization. And an exhibit of this discovery will be on display at the Konoha museum next month."

For a total of ten seconds, the entire class was as quiet as the grave. Even Naruto and Kiba, the class's loudmouths, were speechless. Then, as soon as those ten seconds of complete silence were up, all hell broke loose.

"There's a new civilization?"

"That's so cool, Iruka-sensei!"

"Why is it first being exhibited here?"

"What is it going to be called?"

"How come this wasn't in the news?"

The questions were fired at him, one after another. It was the complete opposite of how the class reacted to the news the first time. While Iruka was proud of the enormous interest the class had for the upcoming field trip, he couldn't help but want that previous moment of blessed silence back. When five minutes passed and the class still hadn't settled down, Iruka was forced to make them shut up again; using his tried-and-true method.

"QUIET!"

Once again, the students were subdued.

"I see you are all excited, but please leave your questions for fourth period, right after lunch. Now let us finish up homeroom." The class grumbled a little, but nevertheless complied. As so homeroom went on like usual, without any further delays.

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

"So do you know anything, Naruto?"

"Hmm?" Naruto mumbled while chewing her ramen noodles. No sooner did they join their friends in the cafeteria and Naruto began to tuck in her all-time favorite food did Sakura ask that question. "What did you mean, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked after swallowing her mouthful.

"Well, your mom is the curator of the museum, right? Did she mention anything about the new exhibit to you?" Kiba and their other friends leaned in closer, also curious of Naruto's answer.

First there was Haku Yuki, a third year student that has been their friend since middle school. He first moved to Konoha from Mizu Prefecture with his adoptive father Zabuza Momochi, a former elite member of the Seven Swordsmen of Kiri's police force. Haku first met Naruto at the park while he was looking at wild herbs; the two became quick friends and Naruto wasted no time introducing him to her other friends. He was a kind soul and the group's pseudo-counselor, but caused the school some problems with his wearing the girls' uniform; his feminine looks didn't help matters either.

To Haku's left was Ino Yamanaka, a second year student and old friend of Sakura's. She had blonde hair and blue eyes like Naruto, but they were in a paler shade than the Namikaze's. She was definitely one of the more outgoing members of the group, always on the look-out for fashion tips and good gossip. There was a breakdown in friendship between Sakura and herself over a boy years ago, but they have resolved it since then and are back on friendly terms.

Next were Chouji Akamichi and Shikamaru Nara, seated right next to Naruto and were in good hearing range for her answer. The guys and Ino were often called the Ino-Shika-Chou group, after their closeness as childhood friends as well as their fathers' own friendship. Currently, Chouji and Shikamaru were often seen hanging out together while Ino tended to hang out with her female friends.

Shikamaru was tall, slightly lanky and always having a bored expression on his face; his mumblings of "Troublesome" were very frequent, and his dark hair held in a high ponytail was a constant as well. Despite always looking lazy and liable to fall asleep at a moment's notice, however, the teen was very smart and resourceful. He was a person you would want as a friend during hard times; likewise, you didn't really want him as an enemy either.

Chouji, on the other hand, was like a giant teddy bear. He had a huskier build, two red swirls on his face, and long shaggy brown hair. In his hands were usually a bag of chips or some piece of food, and his personality was kind and easy-going. But if there was one thing Chouji could never tolerate, it was being called "fat" or another synonym for it. One guy learned this the hard way in middle school; after that incident, only the very arrogant or ignorant would ever say those words around Chouji ever again.

And then there was Shino Aburame: he was an old childhood friend of Kiba's and fascinated with insects due to his family's profession as biologists. Always wearing shades and seldom talking, he had the reputation of being creepy and scary; something that he's actually sensitive about. But with the others, Shino would actually break free from his cocoon and interact a little.

"Sorry guys," Naruto sighed while rubbing the back of her head, "But I can't remember if Mom did. She was acting a little strange this morning, though."

"What do you mean by 'strange'?" pressed Sakura.

"Well, Mom was kinda impatient; she woke me up harder than usual, and she really wanted me to finish breakfast and get out of the house."

"Are you sure-"

"C'mon, Sakura," Kiba interrupted, "If Naruto says she didn't know, then she didn't know. Besides, why are you being so stressful? It's just another trip to the museum."

"'Just another trip'?!" Sakura yelled as Kiba began to cower under the table. He wasn't the only one: everyone, not just their friends, had heard Sakura's exclamation over the usual din of conversation that hung over the cafeteria. It was clear to all that Sakura was getting angry and Kiba was her prime target; some of the boys were already starting to bet whether Kiba would finally be killed for his big mouth, or just badly wounded.

"I can't believe you, Kiba!" continued Sakura, oblivious to the crowd and betting pool gathering around her, "How you say that this is just another field trip?! We have been given the opportunity to be the first to see this exhibit, and you just dismiss it like that?!" As Sakura ranted on and on, all eyes were on her victim who seemed to be looking for a rock to hide under. There was one pair who was slightly glaring at him; while Naruto felt sorry for Kiba, and wasn't too fond of World History herself, she couldn't help but get mad at him for her mother, who undoubtedly worked hard on the exhibit.

"Well, don't you have something to say for yourself?" Sakura concluded with a huff of breath, glaring at Kiba for all he was worth. Not wanting to get her going again, Kiba just nodded his head while she sat down in her seat. With the show over, everyone else began to resume their business as well. Except for those groaning and paying Shikamaru who won the bet; when it comes to betting, having an IQ over 200 never hurts.

"I guess you're excited about your class's field trip, huh Sakura?" Haku commented with a light smile. Already cooling down from her previous tirade, Sakura returned the smile. "Yeah, I really love our World History class. And this trip really is a great opportunity for us, though _some_ of us don't seem to realize that." Ten bucks goes to the person who knows the target of the resulting glare.

"I have to agree with Forehead on this one. I can't wait to see any pieces of clothing or art with them on it." Ino commented with a far-off gaze. While she preferred shopping to learning, she would always be a fan of fashion, no matter the time era or purpose.

"So you're finally going to update your wardrobe from the Stone Age, Ino-pig? Took you long enough, but better late than later." Sakura threw in and ruffled Ino's feathers. Just because they were now friends again didn't mean they would stop a few insults from coming out. Everyone else had learned to ignore it by now; at most Shikamaru would complain about the two girls being "troublesome."

"Anyway," Sakura turned to face Haku while ignoring Ino's grumbled complaints, "Did you guys hear about the senior's upcoming field trip?"

"Actually we've narrowed it down to two locations. There's either Washington D.C. in America, or London, England."

"Wow, you get to choose between America and England?! How come the seniors are the only ones that get to go overseas? The school probably gets enough money to send all the classes on international field trips." Kiba couldn't help but blurt out. Shino decided to be pro-active in circumventing another Sakura Haruno rant and swiftly responded, "While it's true Shinobi Private High has more than enough money to finance overseas trips, the purpose of the field trips is academic enhancement, not personal entertainment. Haku and the others will most likely be in English and other academic classes during their stay." Now all eyes were on Shino; it was quite rare for him to say that many words in a single sitting.

"It's true, Kiba," Haku began, silently impressed with the Aburame, "We might have some free-time during our two-week stay, but most of our time will be spent in special classes set up for us. The most Iruka-sensei would do for your field trip is assigning an essay about the exhibit."

"Fine," Kiba relented, seeing the truth in his old friend's words. But he softly mumbled under his breath, "I still don't like hanging around a bunch of old junk."

Two sets of ears heard this final statement, and unfortunately for him, they belong to the last two people he wanted to hear it.

Two loud 'thumps' swiftly followed.

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but inwardly sigh as he observed the three students in his office. Having been the principal of Shinobi Private for several years, he was very much used to students being sent to his office for misconduct. One frequent visitor was Jiraiya Gamasēji, who was usually sent for peeking on his female classmates or teachers, as well as for any pornographic materials he was caught having. Many of the times he was sent to Sarutobi's office, Tsunade Senju was sent along as well; primarily for beating Jiraiya to a pulp for his voyeuristic tendencies. Just because Jiraiya was a pervert – and got worse with each passing day – did not warrant thorough beatings as punishment (a few punches perhaps, but not beatings).

His current trip down memory lane was the result of the trio of students in front of him. Though in Kiba Inuzuka case, there were two Tsunades he had to deal with instead of one. The boy was seated off one side in front of his desk' nursing the two large bumps on top of his head. He also sent frantic glances at the other two in the room. Though neither Sakura nor Naruto seemed to notice; they were too caught up in the aura of irritation and slight embarrassment caused by being sent to his office again. Yes, all three students were sent to his office for various reasons in the past; luckily for them, however, they were not his most frequent visitors.

It was curious, though; normally it was just Kiba and Sakura in his office after the pink-haired girl hit him for being rude or immature, or Kiba and Naruto for masterminding an inappropriate (but ingenious) prank on the teachers. This time, all three students were present for causing a disturbance during lunch. And judging by Sakura's and Naruto's displeasure with Kiba, it wasn't because of a prank.

After a few more seconds of silence, Sarutobi decided to break the ice. "Well now," he began, "can any of you three tell me why you were sent to my office this time?"

Seeing that neither one of her friends wanted to, Sakura began explaining, "It's like this, Principal Sarutobi; we were all talking about the upcoming field trip for our World History class. But Kiba wouldn't stop complaining about it. He went too far, so I… kind of hit him for it." Sakura's voice weakened a little towards the end of her explanation. Back in the cafeteria, she felt Kiba's big mouth justified the lump she gave him; but now that she was in the principal's office, her justification seemed to fall a little flat.

Sarutobi nodded at Sakura, and turned to the other girl of the group. "And you, Naruto?" Fidgeting with the principal's attention on her now, Naruto said, "Well, the last thing Kiba said was about the exhibit, which my mom has been working on. And I got mad at him, so…" She chose not to elaborate more on what was left out, but the old man could easily piece together the missing information. While Naruto was hyperactive and a bit goofy, she inherited her parents' sense of protecting and cherishing those who were precious. Unfortunately, she also inherited the Uzumaki short temper, which lead to many fights that got her in trouble.

Finally, the old man turned to the only male student and asked him, "Is what they say true, Kiba?" The shaggy brunet only nodded, still wary of what his two female companions would do should he say the wrong thing. The principal was quiet for a few seconds before he sighed and addressed them.

"This is definitely not what I thought I would have to deal with when I woke up this morning. Naruto, Sakura – because you two resorted to violence and caused the disturbance during lunch, you will have detention during lunch for a week. Kiba, you will also have detention with them for being the cause of this. And before you start arguing, Naruto – remember I can always change it to detention after school for two weeks and suspension of club activities for the quarter as well." Naruto shut her open mouth with an audible 'click'. If the old man was serious about his threat, then Sakura will find another target – a blonde one.

The three teens looked at one another before they turned back to Sarutobi, reluctantly shaking their heads to show it won't be necessary. Reclining back in his seat, the old man said, "Very well, then. You three are free to go; I'm sure Iruka-san isn't going to be happy with you being late, so passes will be given to each of you."

The three relieved teens thanked him and moved towards the door to get back to class. But before they crossed the threshold, Sarutobi realized something and called out, "Ah, Naruto!"

The blonde turned to her elder with a puzzled look. "I wanted to tell you that Jiraiya's back in town. You'll want to check out his usual spots to find him, though."

"Eh, Ero-jiji is back? Thanks, Saru-jiji!" chirped an excited Naruto as she raced out of his office. Her friends were momentarily stunned before they went after her, calling for her to slow. As he watched the trio, Sarutobi chuckled out loud. It looks like he had given Naruto something to look forward now. And he had no doubt the three would settle their little tit-for-tat before the school day was over. It would take more than that to destroy the bonds shared by Naruto, Sakura, and Kiba…

And so Hiruzen Sarutobi settled back down to finish filling out the paperwork he was working on before all of this. But as he began writing, a stray thought floated through his mind – '_If Jiraiya is at his usual hideout, he better be grateful I told Naruto first instead of __**Tsunade**__…'_

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

"Hmm, he wasn't in there either…" Naruto murmured as she exited of Konoha's local bars. School had ended a few hours earlier, and she took the time to change out of her school uniform at home and into her street clothes before starting her search for Jiraiya. "Damn it; just where could that old pervert be?"

Jiraiya was, is, and will forever be a pervert. Actually, he was more than just a pervert; he was a _super_ pervert, having told a twelve year old Naruto so when she caught him peeping on some older women. The man not only engaged in voyeuristic and other naughty hobbies, he was a porn writer by trade. And he would often travel to different towns, sometimes even countries, in order to conduct his 'research.' Whether or not he'd be chased out by a mob of angry women depended on his luck and stealth.

So far Naruto had tried most of the usual places: she went to bars he would booze at, hostess clubs with attractive women inside, and even a couple of strip clubs! No one had seem him yet, though most of the women were appreciative of the warning that he was back in town; proper measures had to be taken to keep his perversion to a minimum. All these establishments had allowed her in because less property damage ensued when she was the one sent to retrieve Jiraiya (with Tsunade, renovations could stretch from a couple of months to a couple of years).

"Alright, now where would Ero-jiji be at this hour?" Naruto took the time to try to remember all of the places she saw Jiraiya in. The places she just checked came to mind first, then areas she was reluctant to check, like love hotels, followed up. Then she remembered one specific event: it was a couple of months after she entered 7th grade, and the day he told her he was a super pervert. But what really caught her attention was the location of that event.

"Of course; that's it!" Naruto took off running, fully intent on arriving at her destination before the target could leave. She weaved through crowds, taking care not to knock anyone down. After running for what seemed to be hours, Naruto had to stop and take a breather. When she managed to, she turned her head around to see where she was.

In front of her was a large building constructed in the traditional Japanese style. The large tiled roof sat on top of the mostly wooden structure, its sides slightly curving outwards. The entrance was designed by an open space plan, but had two wooden doors that had signs and prices hanging on them. And hanging above the entrance way was a noren with the kanji "Yu" in the center.

"Figures that Ero-jiji would be here," Naruto mumbled while staring at the building, "A bath house means he can peek at women bathing while still being protected by a wall." Heaving a sigh, Naruto entered into the public bath and approached the attendant at the front desk after slipping off her shoes at the shoe locker.

"Welcome to the Konoha Hot Springs! For a single bath it'll cost 425 yen, use of the sauna an extra 100 yen for the wristband, and we have milk beverages for after your stay." The young female attendant smiled at the younger blonde in a hospitable mood.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you a question." The woman blinked after hearing the teenager's request. Now that she noticed, the blonde girl didn't even have a washcloth or soap on her. There were times when she had to sell some bathing supplies to customers who forgot to bring them, but none of them actually came to the bath house empty-handed. "Uh, okay. What's your question?"

"Did you see an old man come in here earlier? He's about 191 cm tall and in good physical condition despite being 54 years old. He has long, shaggy white hair, dark eyes, and two red-line tattoos running down his cheek. Does that sound familiar?"

"Hmm…" She had to admit, she didn't remember any elderly man that matched the young girl's description. And she was starting to get the vibe that his appearance wasn't the only thing she should remember about him… The attendant shook her head and said, "I didn't see anyone like that come in today. Is he a regular?"

"You can say that…" Naruto led off uncertainly. The attendant must have been hired after Jiraiya's last visit; otherwise she would already be spitting fire after hearing the description, maybe even alerting other employees to keep watch for the pervert. "If you ever see someone like that, could you just call whoever is in charge and tell them." Even more confused, the attendant just nodded and told Naruto that she would do that.

"Alright, see you later." Naruto bid the woman goodbye and left, making sure to retrieve her shoes as she went. Standing in front of the building, she couldn't help but think that her hunch was wrong. It wouldn't be the first time; rare, but not non-existent. Besides, Jiraiya was an opportunistic pervert; wherever beautiful women went (with or without clothes), he would surely be there, leering and slobbering away. _'Honestly, that old man is almost as worse as Happosai. Though at least he doesn't steal their underwear…'_

Naruto contemplating going by a stream she knew some women would visit in the summer when she heard something. It was only for a split-second, so Naruto had to turn around to see where the sound could have come from. Then she heard it again; it was louder this time, and sounded something close to a… giggle?

'_What the hell?'_ Now Naruto really was searching for where that came from. Then she heard some more giggles floating in the air, are realized that they were coming from the women's side of the bath house.

"So it was just some women, huh..?" Naruto sighed while scratching the back of her head. She was starting to walk towards the woods where the stream was when she realized something: The first set of giggles sounded different from the second set. The second set of giggles was soft and high-pitched, like Sakura's or Ino's or even Haku's (occasionally in his case). The first two giggles, however, were lower and deeper; too deep for most women's voices. And it was not only the pitch; the tone seemed to be different as well. Instead of sounding as if the person just heard a funny joke or a witty remark, it sounded as if they were seeing something they liked a little too much. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if that person was in the middle of peeping-

"Wait a minute! Deep voice? _Leering_ tone? _**Peeping?!**_" The clues were piecing themselves together in Naruto's brain, leading to a conclusion that sent her back to the bath house – but not entering it. Instead she walked alongside the building, keeping a watchful eye on the fence that shielded bathers from prying eyes that could be hidden in the wooded area encompassing most of the place. When she reached the back of the area, she found _who_ – not what – she was looking for.

In front of her was a large man sitting on his haunches, his long white hair tied back in a low ponytail. He wore traditional clothing in red and green, with a pair of red _geta_ sandals on his feet (how he never got blisters from those wooden clogs, she'd never know). Next to his feet was a large sack, a writing pad and a pencil. But the true smoking gun in this case was the series of perverted giggles that launched themselves out of his mouth as he peeped through a small hole in the fence. She didn't know how long he'd been sitting there, staring at the bathing women like pieces of meats. And frankly, she didn't want to – ever.

'_Yup… he's definitely an ero-jiji…'_ Naruto thought while her eyebrow began to violently twitch. Having finally found the elusive pervert, Naruto's biggest problem was getting him away from that spot. Since she neither had the time nor the resources to come up with a ridiculously-elaborate-yet-still-impressive trap, she decided to stick with something simple.

Slowly, Naruto quietly sneaked up on the old man, taking great care not to step on any twigs or upset nearby bushes. On a good day, Jiraiya's senses were so sharp that only Naruto's father, Minato, could successfully catch him off guard. But because he spent so much time _admiring_ the women bathing, Naruto was able to get behind him without his knowing. Jiraiya was really going to be surprised in three, two, one…

"OI, ERO-JIJI! STOP BEING A PERV AND LOOKING AT THE NAKED GIRLS!" Being a naturally loud person, when Naruto yells on purpose, she **yells**. Because Naruto was right behind him, Jiraiya immediately fell to the ground with a shout of his own. Even the women inside the bath house were momentarily stunned. But once they let what Naruto was yelling about sink in, their response was just as loud and much more chaotic.

"Kyaaaah!"

"Oh my god, there's a pervert somewhere?!"

"Where the hell is that bastard hiding?!" Roared one particularly ticked-off lady.

"Let's find the scum and teach him a lesson!"

Jiraiya panicked after hearing that, and scrambled to collect his things and hide away before the women could organize themselves into an angry mob. Naruto stood back watching him, very much amused by the sight of her godfather acting like a mouse in front of a bunch of starving alley cats. No sooner had Jiraiya dived behind a bush did a group of angry women come marching up to Naruto, armed with brooms, heavy purses, and even some bath buckets.

"Hey, did you see a pervert anywhere near here?" asked one of the female bathers. She was only in a towel, but that didn't stop her from looking as mad as hell.

"Yeah, I saw him. He was this really old man with grey hair and liver spots. He was sitting down, looking through this hole in the wall and even taking notes!"

"Damn it!" cursed a bath house employee, "I'll have to talk with Maintenance about that…"

"Do you know where he went?" one woman asked Naruto, acting a little more level-headed than the rest of the women behind her.

"I saw him running over to the men's side," Naruto replied while pointing to the left side of the bath house, "If you hurry you can still catch him!"

"Thank you, young lady," an elderly women spoke to Naruto while the rest began to move, "But you better be careful too. A pretty young girl like you is also a target for all these perverts today."

"I will, Baa-chan!" Naruto waved goodbye as the old woman left to re-join the mob of women that were starting to disappear from sight. She waited for an extra ten minutes, and when she was sure that the mob wasn't coming back, she moved closer to the bush Jiraiya was hiding behind and said, "The coast is clear. You can come out now, Ero-jiji."

"Phew!" Jiraiya popped out of the bush like a mole from a Whack-a-Mole game, looking very much disheveled with leaves and twigs stuck to his clothes and in his hair. After getting back into the open, fixing his appearance and gathering his stuff, Jiraiya turned to Naruto and began to scold her.

"Damn it gaki, how could you interrupt my precious research like that?!"

"'Precious research,' my ass; you were just peeping at naked women, you perv!" Naruto answered back with her hands on her hips. This wasn't the first the two had an argument over how Jiraiya conducted his _research_; ever since she was twelve and learned about the birds and the bees (that was the first time she saw her dad stutter as much as Iruka-sensei), she would call him out on his perversion whenever she caught him in the act. Sometimes these conversations even took place in hospital rooms the old man was admitted to after the women caught on and delivered _divine justice_.

Jiraiya sighed and shook his finger at his goddaughter, "I guess you still can't understand the importance of what I do; you are still a gaki, after all. It's research like this that fuels my creative drive as an author of erotic romance!"

"Those are just porn books!" Naruto snapped back, "And the only thing that your peeping fuels is your perversion! Face it, Ero-jiji; you're just a pervert!"

"They are erotic romance novels!" Jiraiya insisted, "And I am not a pervert!"

"Oh? What are you, then?"

"I'm… a super pervert!" he finished with a loud laugh.

Naruto kept quiet, though the look on her face spoke volumes. _'I should have known he would say something like that…'_

"Anyway, gaki," Jiraiya stopped laughing and asked Naruto, "How did you know I was back in town?" Jiraiya was starting to walk away from the spot and Naruto followed him.

Naruto blinked a little and said, "Oh, right. Well, Saru-jiji told me you returned earlier at school when I was in his office, so I thought to look for you." Both of them had already left the woods and had just entered the street.

"Of course." Jiraiya sighed while remembering the old man whose office became a second home of sorts for him. While he was on good terms with Hiruzen Sarutobi (who he often calls Sarutobi-sensei), he couldn't help but wonder how he always knew when Jiraiya came back to Konoha. Was he psychic, or just knew that many powerful people? Then he processed the rest of her sentence.

"Wait a minute… Why were you in Sarutobi-sensei's office? I thought you and Kiba outgrew pranks last year?"

When Naruto heard his question, she blushed and turned her head away. "It wasn't for a prank; Sakura-chan, Kiba and me were sent because we caused a scene at lunch."

Well, Jiraiya wasn't expecting that… "You 'caused a scene'? What does that mean?"

"We were all taking about our class field trip, and Kiba wouldn't stop complaining about it. Sakura-chan got angry and told him to stop, but then he said something that made both of us angry… so we hit him." By now Naruto was looking down at the ground, clearly embarrassed by how she acted earlier. And Jiraiya was shocked that Naruto actually hit Kiba like that. Sure they had mock fights as kids, but Kiba never did anything that made her hit him like the way Tsunade did back in school. _'Wait- like how Tsunade-hime used to hit __**me**__?'_

"Naruto, what exactly did Kiba say?" Jiraiya asked, surprising Naruto with the tone of suspicion in his voice. Whatever Naruto says next will determine whether Jiraiya will need to have a _talk_ with Kiba; pervert or not, Jiraiya would never allow his goddaughter to be treated like that (especially when she's still a minor).

Still confused by her godfather's behavior, Naruto answered, "Well, we were told that our field trip would be at the Konoha museum this year. Kiba wasn't really happy about that, and he said that the last thing he wanted to do was 'hang around a bunch of old junk.'" I got upset because Mom's the curator and probably put a lot of work into the exhibit we're supposed to see. So I hit Kiba for that."

Jiraiya was silent for a second, thinking it over; he then sighed and said, "So it was like that…" He shouldn't be surprised, really; Naruto was really close to both her mother and father. Of course she would defend Kushina after someone made a comment like that. He had to feel sorry for the boy, though; not only did the kid have to deal with Sakura Haruno (according to Naruto, this generation's Tsunade), he also has to be careful with not indirectly or directly insulting Naruto's family members.

'_The poor kid has two potential Tsunades on his hand… The world may end soon.'_ Jiraiya couldn't help but muse. "So besides that, what else has been going on?"

"Well, last week I got a letter from Uncle Nagato – you know who's a missionary in Sudan? – telling me that his friends Yahiko and Konan just got married. And Haku's class gets to go to either America or England for their field trip. Ooh, and Tsunade-baachan visited a couple of days ago."

"What did you talk about?"

"Not much, though she did say she needed to talk with you about something important."

That got Jiraiya's attention. "She did?"

"Yup. And she said she better not catch you being a perv while you're in town." As she said this, Naruto sent a sideways glance to see how he would react.

"Bah, I'll see her when I have the time." Jiraiya's voice as he talked about his old classmate was calm and steady. But on the _inside_, the man was sweating **bullets**. He'd just realized that if Sarutobi-sensei hadn't told Naruto he was back, the old man would have told Tsunade. And if she had caught him anywhere near the women's side, the day would have ended so much differently: with him in the hospital after being beaten up by the angry mob or Tsunade herself.

"That's pretty much all that's happened here. So where did you go this time?"

Thankful for the distraction from his current thoughts, Jiraiya started his rant. "Well as you know I, the Great Jiraiya-sama, am always in need of good research material." He ignored Naruto's mumblings of "More like victims for your perverted hobbies…" and pressed on, "So I visited all of the Ryukyu Islands, especially Okinawa."

"The Ryūkyū Islands?" Naruto was definitely interested now. She actually couldn't wait to hear what he had to say. "What were they like?"

"Let me tell you, never before have I been to so many islands that seem to be crawling with gorgeous women!" Jiraiya had stopped right in the middle of the street, caught up in his memories of that time. His eyes were glazed over, drool started to fall from the corner of his mouth, and he subconsciously started to perversely giggle. This earned him a lot of stares and whispers from others passing by; women in particular seem to give him the evil eye for his behavior.

"…Of course," Naruto seethed, her eyebrow violently twitching and a blood vessel threatening to pop out, "So that's _all_ you did?"

Whether it was her tone that snapped Jiraiya out of it or not, he finally came out of his stupor and continued. "Actually, no. While I was at Okinawa, I met a noro priestess traveling around the island."

"What's a noro priestess?" Naruto asked, confused.

"They are the oldest type of _kaminchu_," Jiraiya explained, "They can channel a person's ancestors and other deities on the island. So they're like very powerful _miko_ down there. Anyway, I mentioned that you loved stories from around the world, so she gave me something for you."

"What? She actually gave you something for me?" Now Naruto was definitely befuddled; why would an old priestess give Ero-jiji something for her?

"Uh-huh," Jiraiya set down his sack and began to rummage around in it, "I don't know why she was so insistent on you having it, but she was." After a few more minutes of searching, Jiraiya seemed to finally strike pay dirt. "Here it is!" He exclaimed, holding what looked to be a small book and handing it to Naruto.

"This is it?" Naruto asked uncertainly. The book certainly didn't look like much; it had a plain dark cover with the pages starting to yellow. The aroma of burned sage still clung to the book, but surprisingly it wasn't such a heavy odor that it irritated her nose.

"Read the first few pages," he prompted.

Naruto did, and was surprised to see a story about something called a _sangwaa_. She flipped ahead several pages into the book, and now saw a paragraph talking about the _shisa_ guardian ward. That's when she realized that the book was all about the indigenous Ryūkyū religion. "Ero-jiji…"

"Oi, gaki, I told you a thousand times-" Jiraiya started to reprimand her, but before he can finish his sentence, he found himself tackled by a very happy teenager.

"Thank you, Ero-jiji! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Naruto practically screamed with so much joy in her voice. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, giving no indication that she'll release him soon. For Naruto, this is one of the best moments of her life. Due to his constant traveling, she never really gets to see Jiraiya on a regular basis. But he would always bring her meaningful gifts she would love. And out of all the gifts she received from him, this book would be the one she would treasure the most.

Jiraiya couldn't help but smile at seeing so much happiness on his goddaughter's face. When he first looked through the book, he was sure that Naruto would be thrilled by it. Ever since she was a little girl, Naruto loved to hear stories. This was particularly fueled by Kushina, who would always take the time to lie down next to her daughter and tell her a bedtime story. And the stories weren't simply your average fairytales; being both an anthropologist and museum curator, she would tell Naruto stories that were told to her by village elders, shamans, and many more. This left Naruto a love for folktales of any kind, and oftentimes when she went to the library she'd come back with an armful of storybooks. But what was even more surprising was that Naruto never forgot _any_ tale she was told. There were times when forgot some of the lessons taught in school, but she remembered each and every story she read about.

"Thanks again, Ero-jiji!" Naruto repeated, wearing a smile much more beautiful than her usual happy-go-lucky grin. Suddenly, he couldn't help but worry about the day she'll finally have a boyfriend; Minato is probably already dreading that with his entire being.

Jiraiya snorted and replied, "I get it already, gaki; now do you think you can let go of me? I can't say I want to spend all day and night like this." Softly giggling, Naruto let go of him and stood up. Jiraiya got off the ground as well, and both of them resumed walking down the street.

"Ne, ne, Ero-jiji! Do you think we can stop by Ichiraku and have some ramen?"

"Sure, but only a couple of bowls! Traveling around the Ryūkyū Islands for three months is not exactly easy on the wallet."

"Aw, you're no fun!"

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

At a location far away from Naruto and Jiraiya, one person sat at his desk. It was in the middle of the afternoon, yet the room was almost in complete darkness; all the curtains were drawn, the door was closed, and the only source of light was a small desk lamp that illuminated the man's astonishingly pale hands. But despite the lack of light, the man's senses were obsidian-sharp; so his head was already turned to face the door before a soft knock was made.

"Enter," the man drawled out in a low voice.

A maid entered the room, walking quietly but with purpose to the desk at the other side. She calmly placed a large brown envelope in front of the man and said, "This was delivered just now, sir."

"Very well. You may go now."

The woman nodded and left the same way she came in, never once raising her eyes to meet her employer's gaze.

The man watched the door for several minutes, and only when he was completely sure the maid went off to tend her business did he unseal the envelope's flap. From it he took out a stack of papers and thoroughly scanned them, re-reading them a second time to make sure he didn't miss anything. He then looked inside the envelope and found a photo that wasn't attached to the papers. He took that out as well and began to study it. Finally he set the photo down and began to smile. A scary, disturbing smile.

"Finally," he crooned in a sick, happy manner, "They found the key to the plan."

He grabbed the phone at the other corner of his desk and promptly dialed a number. The dial tone only rang a couple of times before the person on the other end picked up.

"_Hello?"_ the person answered. The voice was low like a man's, and sounded more pleasant than that of the caller's. But there seemed to be an undercurrent to his voice; an undercurrent that suggested deceit.

"I'm very pleased to say that your men delivered what I wanted so quickly."

"_Well I'm pleased to hear that,"_ the other man darkly chuckled, _"Is there anything else you can do for you?"_

"There is, actually. I would like you to get close to the target in the time you have left. Makes sure the little one trusts you enough that you'll be able to pull **that** part of the plan off smoothly."

"_Of course, sir. Farewell."_ The other man hung up, leaving the original caller to place the phone back in the receiver. He turned his head to look at the photo and darkly smirked.

"Oh, you will be the most important piece of my plan for glory, young one."

Unsuspecting blue eyes stared back at him.

* * *

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

**Well there you have it folks; chapter 2 is done! I want to say that I'll get started on chapter 3 right away, but I have so many story ideas already on the back burner it isn't funny. I do have an opinion poll up on my profile page that asks which story the readers would like to read alongside **_**A Japanese Scheherazade**_**; the summaries for them are on my profile as well. Feel free to vote if you can.**

**Now onto some cultural notes/ explanations (Wiki it for more!):**

**Naruto's school - The school is private, so families do have to pay tuition fees; only recently was the public school system made tuition-free. I am not sure if detention during lunch is implemented in Japanese private schools; the teachers at my public high school would give out detention during lunch, so I went with it. In Japan, high school goes from grade 10 to grade 12. So Haku, a senior or third-year, is actually in the 12****th**** grade. And Naruto and the rest of her friends are 11****th**** graders (second-years). And at the beginning at the day, students will stand up and bow to their teacher when he or she walks in (of course, not every student feels the need to do that).**

**Sensei – An honorific title given to teachers, writers, and doctors.**

**Gamasēji – I was trying to translate the phrase 'Toad Sage' from English to Japanese and got this from Google Translate. I think the second word (sēji) was spelled phonetically. It was the best I could come up with without using **_**Sennin**_** or **_**Sanin**_**.**

**Ero-jiji – The 'Ero' is short for 'erotic' and 'jiji' is slang for 'old man' or 'grandfather.' So she basically is calling him a perverted old man.**

**Saru-jiji – 'Saru' in Japanese means 'monkey.' Together with 'jiji,' it can mean 'Old man monkey' or 'Grandfather Monkey.' I think that Naruto would have called Sarutobi that since she was a little girl because she knows him so well.**

**Konoha Hot Springs – The place is a **_**sentō**_**, or a public bath house where you pay an entrance fee. It can also be called an **_**onsen**_** because it uses water from natural hot springs. When you first enter the public bath, you have to take off your shoes and put them in one of the lockers by the entrance: Japanese etiquette dictate that you don't wear outside shoes in buildings. The attendant is situated right between the different entrances for men and women (most communal baths in Japan are gender-segregated) at either a front desk or a **_**bandai**_**. The **_**Bandai**_** is a large wooden platform and the traditional place where the attendant would sit.**

**Height in centimeters – In Japan and other countries around the world, people give their height using centimeters. Jiraiya would probably be around 6' 3". By the way, Naruto's height (both in cannon and my story) is 166 cm, or 5' 5".**

**Happosai – Yeah, I couldn't help but throw out that reference to **_**Ranma ½**_**. For anyone who doesn't know, Happosai is the old, tiny man that steals women's underwear and feels up most pretty women he sees. But he isn't your average pervert; he is the founder and grandmaster of the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, and has even beat Ranma on some occasions. I find Jiraiya and Happosai to be so similar because of their perverted antics, old age, and their great amount of power and skill. Happosai, however, trumps Jiraiya in both age and perversion. **

**Geta – Traditional Japanese footwear that is a pair of wood sandals resembling clogs with a fabric thong. They can come in many shapes and styles. **

**Bath buckets – Large buckets where a person may store their toiletries or fill water to rinse off with. Can be either wood or plastic.**

**Baa-chan – One way to call your grandmother or an old lady you meet.**

**Gaki – Literally means 'brat.' Jiraiya has been calling Naruto that since she was little; he's not going to stop anytime soon.**

**Hime – Title that translates as 'princess' in English. And not like western princesses; this title can be used for women of old and distinguished families.**

**Sama – An honorific title given to people that has a higher status than the speaker. When people refer to themselves as sama, it makes them seem obnoxious.**

**Noro priestess – Also known as an nūrū priestess. They also communicate with and make offerings to the spirits Jiraiya mention. They also officiate communitywide festivals and rituals.**

**Kaminchu – People that specialize in Ryukyuan magico-religious practices. They're somewhat similar to shamans.**

**Sangwaa – Susuki or knotted Grass. It's a ward against evil or sometimes even food rot.**

**Shisa – A traditional Ryukyuan decoration that is a cross between a lion and a dog. They're a variation of the guardian lions in China.**

**I actually can't believe this chapter is well over 8,000 words and takes up 19 pages on **_**Word**_**. Well please read and review!**


	4. Volatile Details

**Author's Note: Hello, hello! It's nice to see you all again! I have great news to share: **_**A Japanese Scheherazade**_** has had over 1,000 views! Thanks to you all for taking the time to read and follow this story!**

**I've also read all the reviews some of you were so kind to leave me. I'm glad you guys enjoy the story so much. But I'm surprised by how anxious some of you are to have Naruto and Sasuke meet. Not that I can blame you: I really want the two to have their first meeting as soon as possible. I can't guarantee it'll go smoothly, though… I guess I just have to make all the chapters longer from now on… Oh God, that'll be taxing.**

**On to what's happening for this chapter. The day before and of the field trip will be covered. Characters and the relationships between will be developed, and we'll meet a certain someone who'll play a major role in sending Naruto to the past… **

**And I would like to give thanks to Narukia, a regular reader from Egypt, and Princess of Persian Rugs, a writer from Iran, for helping me with the English pronunciations of the Arabic and Farsi phrases I made for this chapter via Google Translate. I don't know what I would have done without their advice.**

**So, without any further ado, here's Chapter 3 of **_**A Japanese Scheherazade**_**!**

**Disclaimer: I'm a multiracial female college student who has never set foot in Japan. What makes you think I'm the creator of a manga like **_**Naruto**_**?**

**Warning: Female Naruto; SasuxFemNaru; swearing (most of it coming from a mystery guest today…); implied sex (not in **_**this**_** chapter, you pervs); things that might make fundamental Christians swear like sailors (in this chapter alone, though); and some violence**

* * *

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

**A Japanese Scheherazade**

**Chapter Three**

Nearly a month has passed since Iruka's groundbreaking announcement. Since that fateful day, word of the field trip spread around the school like wildfire; the subject came up in lunch conversations, small talk in the restrooms, and sneaky text messages. Of course, it wasn't restricted to the boundaries of the school either; the fact it was about a newly discovered culture was brought up by students to family, friends, and even the occasional random stranger. And while some students weren't as enthusiastic as others, the field trip was at least mentioned once in one of their conversations.

The students weren't the only ones spreading news about the subject; the media were covering the recently discovered civilization as well, nicknaming it 'Mirage City' after a local story about the valley it was found in. Though it turns out the first artifacts from the settlement were actually discovered years ago. The sponsor of the dig had instructed the archeologists to keep quiet until they found enough evidence to prove their findings didn't belong to an already known culture. Then they had to sit down and try to interpret their evidence: what were their daily lives like, how their society was structured, and how did the people interact with other cultures were just a few of the questions they tried to solve. After that, the Japanese government had to bargain with the Iraqi and Iranian governments for permission to display the items in the museum of the sponsor's choice: Konoha museum. Long story short: all three governments managed to reach an agreement, and the artifacts were given on loan to the museum for display and study.

Suffice it to say, there were many people excited about the exhibit opening. And some were still talking about it up to the day before, like Naruto and her friends.

"So your field trip is tomorrow, right?" Haku started. Everyone decided to have lunch on the roof today to enjoy the fresh air and the beautiful blue skies; two things you didn't really get eating in a lunch room. Access to the roof was possible due to Sakura's good standing with the teachers, who were more than happy to lend keys to a student council member

"Yes, I can't wait!" Sakura answered enthusiastically, though she was the only one to actually answer his question.

Kiba was too busy animatedly telling Shino about something he saw on TV last night, while Shino was trying to understand whatever Kiba was babbling about. Ino was engrossed in the latest issue of her favorite fashion magazine, and Shikamaru was catching up on his cloud-watching; the perfect hobby to match the lackadaisical part of his personality. And Naruto and Chouji were busy tucking in their lunch, though what they had greatly different from what the other had; Naruto had a bento provided by her mother, who wouldn't allow her to have ramen for lunch three days straight; and Chouji had several pieces of his favorite barbequed beef alongside a bag of chips.

Ne, Naruto? Is your mother excited as well?" Haku asked the eating blonde. To get her attention, he put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle shake. She turned to face the teenage boy with a puzzled expression.

While Naruto was by no means a 'dumb blonde', her attention span wasn't very long and it was hard to grab sometimes. This was most apparent when she was eating ramen. Not even Jiraiya running past her, butt-naked and on fire, could tear Naruto's focus away from a bowl of ramen. Haku was quite lucky, however; he was one of the very few in Naruto's life who could get her attention with little to no effort.

"Oh!" Naruto responded, fully processing Haku's question. "Yeah, she is! Mom's has been talking about it since last month. Even Dad said this was the first time she was so happy about a museum event."

"So your mom has been talking about the exhibit?"

"Well, not really," she corrected, "Mom's still keeping that a secret. The only thing she tells me about is that I'm really gonna like it. But we have been having a visitor recently."

"A visitor?" Haku asked, "Are you taking about your godfather Jiraiya?"

"No, not Ero-jiji. This guy is working for the sponsor of the archeological team that found everything. He's like a supervisor or something, and Mom has been inviting him over to the house a lot."

"Wait a minute!" Kiba cut into the conversation, "This guy's been at your house?" Having just finished his (one-sided) chat with Shino, and was surprised and concerned about hearing some guy hanging around her house.

A little surprised by Kiba's question, Naruto said, "Yeah, he comes over to talk with Mom about the exhibit. He's actually very nice; Mom likes him, and even Dad thinks he's an okay guy."

"Really…" Kiba trailed off, not exactly happy, but also not in the mood to ask more about the topic.

"So what's his name?" Sakura asked, putting her two cents in.

"Oh, it's Kabuto Yakushi. And I think his employer's name is Yashagorō Satō or something."

"Hmm, I don't think I've heard that name before." Sakura mused.

"Well, don't look at me. I don't know who he is, either." Naruto quipped.

And so silence settled among the teenagers, until one person blurted out a question they've had for some time.

"Hey, do you think the girls will have to wear those head scarves things?" Kiba curiously asked. Since the cafeteria incident, Kiba had decided to accept the imminent field trip for the sake of his health; that and his mother basically forced him to go once she learned Iruka-sensei would give an assignment related to it.

"Kiba, you got it all wrong," Sakura sighed exasperatedly and went into lecture-mode (operational since the 7th grade). "First of all, they are called hijabs. Second of all, the exhibit is about a culture that existed thousands of years before Islam was born. And finally, we are going to a museum, not a _mosque_."

"I don't know, Sakura. Maybe some of the girls should wear hijabs." Sakura, confused by the statement, turned to face the speaker. She found herself face-to-face with Ino, fashion magazine left opened but ignored in her lap.

"What are you talking about, Ino?" Sakura inquired.

"Well, Sakura," Ino began, "Hijabs cover most of the head, which is perfect for bad hair days. Why don't you invest in them? They would definitely cover that gigantic billboard you call a _forehead_," she finished with a small smirk.

Now that definitely got Sakura's blood boiling, but instead of immediately flying off the handle, she seemed to take the time to come up with an impressive comeback. And when it came to mind, Sakura sent Ino a smirk of her own.

Suspicious of the lack of angry yelling, and quite unnerved by the smirk, Ino asked, "What are you thinking about, Sakura?"

"Oh, nothing," Sakura replied lightly, "I was just thinking about how you would look in a niqāb."

Ino was now quite confused. "A niqāb? What the hell is that?" Everyone else, now paying close attention to this new development, began wondering as well.

"A niqāb," Sakura answered, "Is a veil worn by Muslim woman that covers their entire face, leaving only their eyes visible. It would be a good look for you, since it would cover your pig snout."

"_What?!_" Ino screamed outrageously, sending the rest of the gang scrambling to get out of the way of the impending fight; even Shikamaru was moving to get out of harm's way. Naruto, Kiba and Chouji have all had the unfortunate luck of getting in the middle of Ino and Sakura's fights at least once since they've known the girls. Shikamaru, Shino and Haku have managed to avoid being dragged into the fights so far, but even they were cautious when the girls' fights turned a little ugly.

"I _do not_ have a pig snout!" the enraged blonde screeched.

"Oh, really? And here I thought you were one of the _pigs_ from George Orwells' _Animal Farm_!" Sakura shouted back.

"Well at least I don't have a forehead that's as large as the cover on Tokyo Stadium!" Ino triumphantly hollered.

Now _that_ got Sakura popping a vein.

"Take that back, _Ino-pig!_"

"You first, _Billboard-brow!_"

As Ino and Sakura began their familiar routine, the others decided to move onto other matters.

"So," Naruto began, "You guys have anything planned for the field trip tomorrow?"

Chouji replied, "Well, I plan on bringing my favorite bag of chips for lunch."

"Don't you do that for every lunch?" a confused Kiba asked.

"It's a limited edition flavor." Shikamaru helpfully clarified.

"What about you, Haku?"

"I don't really have any plans," Haku responded, keeping a close eye on the still-fighting pair of girls a few feet away. Not only could he successfully capture Naruto's attention, he also was able to stop Sakura and Ino's arguments without much fuss. He was practically the group's designated fight-breaker/peace-keeper as well as counselor.

"Oi, Shino, do you got anything you plan on doing?" Kiba asked his old friend.

"I simply plan on enjoying the exhibit." He simply said.

"Well as for me," Kiba began, "I plan on reading manga books and magazines and listening to music whenever I can."

"That sounds like a rather troublesome plan," Shikamaru tiredly noted.

"Hey, just because I have to go on the trip doesn't mean I'll spend all my time looking at a bunch of _old stuff_." Kiba huffed, causing everyone (except a certain arguing duo) to roll their eyes and shake their heads.

Naruto turned to Shikamaru, who resumed cloud watching, and began poking him and asked, "Hey, Shikamaru, what are you going to do?"

"Troublesome. If you must know, I plan on sleeping on the bus and just following everyone else."

"That's _it_? C'mon, Shikamaru; you gotta stop being so lazy all the time." Naruto grumbled.

Shikamaru just sighed and calmly said, "You sound just like my mother, that troublesome woman; I don't know why my dad married her."

"Probably because of the _Nara curse_," Kiba joked around, earning a round of laughs all around.

"Shut up, Kiba." Shikamaru grumbled.

The Nara family, particularly the Nara men, was well known for two things: their high intelligence, and their great laziness. It was like the general lack of motivation was the only way to balance their personalities so they wouldn't be insufferable know-it-alls. So who were the women that married into this family? Strong-minded, independent women who drove their husbands and children to succeed in life (no matter how much the men complained along the way). Shikamaru's mother was a good example of this archetype, leaving some to label the trend as a family quirk, or even, as Kiba put it, a '_curse_'.

Taking pity on Shikamaru, Haku changed the subject, "So Naruto, do you have anything planned?"

"Eh?" Naruto blinked, looking rather dazed. "My plans?"

"Yes, _your plans_." Haku repeated. "Did your mother ask you to spend time together that day?"

"Yeah, c'mon Naruto," Kiba spoke up, "All of us already told our plans. Now it's your turn to spill the beans."

"Alright, alright; I'll tell you guys. But before I say anything, promise that you'll let _me_ tell Sakura-chan and Ino later when they stop fighting." Naruto conceded.

Her request was rather strange, but letting their anticipation get the better of them, everyone nodded their heads to show their compliance.

Naruto sighed, her already tense muscles beginning to relax, "Okay… the truth is… Ero-jiji is gonna be a chaperone!" She blurted out with her eyes cinched shut.

After hearing nothing but silence, she slowly opened her eyes to see her friends' expressions. And the more she watched them, the stronger the urge to laugh grew.

At first everyone seemed too stunned to react, but as the information was given more time to settle in, their unresponsiveness quickly gave way.

Haku gasped and covered his mouth, looking a little green around the gills; Chouji dropped all of his chips and seemed to have lost his appetite; Shino's eyebrows were raised so high they were actually visible, and Shikamaru traded in his normal face of tiredness and boredom for a face of utter shock and disbelief.

But it was Kiba's reaction that topped everyone else's. His jaw hang opened, his eyes were bulging out, and his left eyebrow was twitching rapidly without any indication of stopping. It was really hilarious to see, and Naruto almost began to snicker – until Kiba regained enough mental function to make use of his notorious big mouth.

"What the fuck?!" howled Kiba, frightening everyone around him. However, before he could say anything else along that line, Naruto tackled him to the ground and covered his mouth.

"Damnit, Kiba!" seethed the blonde, holding the canine-esque teen down. Ignoring his muffled protests, she turned her head to check on Sakura and Ino. The two girls were still arguing, but it was starting to run its course; odds are they would rejoin the group while Naruto would be in the middle of her explanation, and then she would have to deal with two angry girls unprepared.

Sending Haku a panicked look, she used her head to gesture in the other girls' direction in an attempt for much need distracting. He got the message, and subtly left to go speak with them.

When Haku began addressing the two and gained their attention, Naruto sighed and took her hands off Kiba's mouth.

"You shoulda been more careful, Kiba!" she quietly hissed at him.

"Well, what did ya expect me to say?!" he whispered back. He certainly was irritated by the fact a girl shorter and lighter than him tackled to the ground and managed to keep him down, but the light blush that dusted his cheeks spoke a different story. Being a typical straight teenaged male, looking at an attractive young woman sitting right on him brought very suggestive thoughts and images to Kiba's imagination – especially since Naruto was sitting _very close_ to a certain _special place_.

"And what do you mean he's gonna be a chaperone?" he continued, "I thought the teachers were the only ones coming with us?"

"Well, it's –"

"Uh, Naruto?" Shikamaru interrupted. "Before you start explaining, can you do one thing?"

Naruto blinked owlishly at his question.

"Do what?"

"Can you get into a more appropriate… position?" He tiredly explained as he pointed out her continued use of Kiba as a seat cushion. Getting rather embarrassed when she realized this, Naruto scrambled off of Kiba and gave him a hasty apology.

"Sorry about that." She mumbled.

"S'alright." Kiba replied as he swiftly sat up, though he did fidget a little before settling down.

"Now can you tell us why Jiraiya-san is coming on the trip?" Shino asked calmly.

"Mom says that because the museum anticipates a lot of visitors tomorrow, the school will need more chaperones for us. So the PTA sent around notices to our relatives. Then Ero-jiji asked to be a chaperone and, for whatever reason, they let him."

Naruto's explanation sort of made sense, though the boys were still feeling uneasy with the new information.

Shikamaru heavily sighed while dragging his hand down his face. "Man, this field trip is really turning out to be troublesome."

"So when are you going to tell Ino and Sakura?" asked Chouji.

"I'm gonna tell them today… just as soon as I get them somewhere that doesn't have anything usable as weapons." She replied.

Kiba nodded in approval. "Good plan."

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

After the last few classes were finished the bell rang to signal the end of the school day. Moments after the last note sounded, streams of students poured out of the building. These first pioneers were glad that the school day was over, leaving them free to go to part-time jobs, arcades, karaoke bars, and other places where teenagers could relax. Those who stayed behind generally had obligations to finish first, like club meetings, cleaning duties, tutoring and, of course, school projects.

Among those that exited the building first were Naruto, Sakura and Kiba. Naruto and Kiba were busy talking about some manga series that both of them were currently following, while Sakura was taking the role of passive observer this time around. But as the trio approached the gate, she noticed someone standing there who looked a little out of place.

It was a gray-haired man wearing a suit, waiting patiently by the gate. As they got closer to him, she could see he also had dark eyes, wore black-rimmed glasses, and was taller than most of the other male students. Despite his hair color, the man didn't look old; while he couldn't really pass for a high school student, he did look to be in his twenties. Still it was rather curious _why_ he would be in front of their school in the first place.

"Hey guys," Sakura motioned to the other two, "Do you see that man over there? Who do you think he is?"

"Hmm…" Kiba took a good look at him, but didn't recognize him. "I'm not sure." He turned to Naruto and asked her, "Do you recognize him?"

Naruto had a surprised expression on her face as she spotted the man, "Yeah, actually I do." She began waving her free arm and yelling to get his attention. "Oi, Kabuto!"

Immediately the man turned his head to look their way, and, seeing Naruto, began to walk towards them. "Good afternoon, Naruto-kun," he greeted with a small smile. "Who are your friends?"

"Guys, this is Kabuto Yakushi," She gestured to the two next to her and said, "Kabuto, these two are my best friends, Sakura-chan and Kiba."

"It's very nice to meet you two." Kabuto said and gave them a nod of the head.

"Likewise," Sakura slightly bowed and continued, "I'm Sakura Haruno; we've heard quite a bit about you from Naruto, Kabuto-san."

"I hope they were only good things," Kabuto sheepishly smiled, "I would rather hate it if your first impression of me was bad before we've even met."

"You have nothing to worry about, Kabuto-san. Naruto would only do that to tease someone, or warn a beautiful woman about her godfather."

"Oh come on, Sakura-chan; you know Ero-jiji's a giant perv," Naruto pouted. "And I only do it when the lady has absolutely never come across him before."

Kiba said nothing; he only stared at the man in front of them with a very irritated expression. His fists were also at his sides, tightening the more he saw Kabuto standing next to Naruto. Sakura noticed all of this and elbowed him in the gut.

"Ow!" Kiba yelled, bending over and wrapping his arms around his waist. "What the hell was _that_ for?" He barked at his pink-haired friend.

"Because you were glaring at Kabuto-san for absolutely no reason at all!" Sakura countered, "Now apologize and properly introduce yourself!"

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto uneasily spoke to her friend, but Sakura wouldn't budge. She knew how Kiba was feeling right now, but it didn't excuse his rude behavior to a total stranger.

"Kiba…" Sakura's voice was low and soft, but the threatening tone in it was real and intended. In a way, it was just like when his mother commanded him to do something; the only thing different was a teenage girl giving the order, not a slightly masculine and physically fit older woman.

After glaring at the ground for some time, he swallowed his pride by raising his head and tersely saying, "Kiba Inuzuka."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Kiba-kun" Kabuto offered with an amiable smile, but only got stony silence in return.

Uncomfortable with the tension still lingering around, Naruto cleared her throat and turned to the man in front of her.

"Ano, Kabuto, why are you here?" she questioned.

"Your mother invited me over for dinner again because tomorrow is the exhibit's opening. And I remembered you told me you attended Shinobi Private High, so I decided to wait by the gate."

Kiba did not like Kabuto's explanation at all. Why would a grown man be hanging around a high school to wait for a student? And he really hated how close old Four-eyes was standing next to Naruto. If his interest in Naruto went beyond her simply being a co-worker's daughter he'd…

"Kiba!"

"Kiba, calm down!"

Naruto and Sakura's raised voices pierced the fog that had, for reasons he didn't want to acknowledge, surrounded his conscience since he noticed Kabuto and Naruto standing close together.

As Kiba returned to reality, he noticed that everyone was looking at him funny. Kabuto seemed really confused, and had a look of concern directed towards the younger boy. Sakura was concerned as well but also looked suspicious, as if she knew what caused his black-out.

And as for Naruto…

"Kiba, are you okay?!"

He suddenly found himself being shaken back and forth by an anxious and panicked blond girl. After a few failed attempts, Kiba managed to take her hands and pry them off of his shoulders. When his vision finally stopped showing him double-images, he tried to address his friends.

"Wha…what happened?" He managed to say without slurring any words.

"You were acting really weird. It was like you just turned into a rabid dog or something." Naruto replied, looking very worried for her friend.

Now Kiba was really confused.

"What?"

"You were growling, Kiba," Sakura clarified, "It sounded just like when Akamaru is growling at the cat that hangs around your family's clinic. And you should check out your hands; they look scratched up."

Kiba looked down at his hands and found Sakura was right; the palms were badly scratched, though they hadn't started bleeding yet. And judging from the imprints, they were made by Kiba's own sharp nails.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" Kabuto asked.

"Nah," dismissed Kiba, "I'll be fine. They're not bleeding or anything."

"I'm not sure, Kiba. Those scratches do look kinda nasty." Naruto uneasily said, looking at his hands with concern.

"She's right, Kiba; those scratches should at least be disinfected." Sakura pointed out.

"I know! We could go over to my house and get Mom to check them over." The blonde offered.

"Hmm, that is a good idea." Kabuto surmised with a nod of the head.

"Come on then, Kiba; let's go!" Naruto grabbed the boy and began tugging him in the direction of her house. And Kiba himself wasn't complaining. For him, this was the best option: not only would he spend more time with Naruto, he could keep a close eye on the so-called 'co-worker' of Kushina-san; in other words, a win-win situation.

But before they could go any farther, Kiba's cell phone beeped.

"Hmm?" he wondered, and took it out of his pocket to check the screen.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"Looks like a text message from Hana…" Confused, Kiba opened it upped and started reading. When he saw what she'd texted him, he let out a curse.

"What's wrong? What did your sister say?" Sakura questioned.

Kiba sighed and put away his phone. "It's my turn to clean out the vet clinic and Mom wants me to head over there ASAP, or else."

"What does that mean?" Kabuto couldn't help but ask.

"This time it means walking, feeding and cleaning after all of our five dogs for a week." Kiba replied.

"Uh…" The others really didn't know what to say to that…

Kiba sighed and said, "I guess I better head over there."

"But… what about your scratches?" Naruto questioned.

"I'll take care of them; my house is on the same route, and my parents keep our First-Aid kit well stocked." Sakura offered.

"That could work…" Kiba admitted.

"Well, looks like you're in good hands," Naruto softly smiled at him, causing his heart to beat faster and his face to sport a light blush. If there was one thing that Kiba loved the most about Naruto, it was how she would sometimes wear a soft smile that greatly magnified her beauty.

"Excuse me Naruto, but shouldn't we be heading over to your house?" Kabuto inquired.

Kiba glared at the older man for ruining the moment, while Naruto blinked owlishly until she remembered.

"Oh yeah; that's right!" She turned to her classmates and asked, "I'll see you guys later?"

Sakura smiled at her friend. "We'll see you tomorrow, Naruto."

Kiba stayed silent for a moment, but then he grinned and said, "Yeah, don't you fuss, Blondie. If we weren't there, you'd be bored out of your mind on the trip."

"Psh, yeah right, Dog Breath," Naruto snorted at her friend's statement. "Bye Sakura-chan, Kiba!"

"I'll see you two at the museum tomorrow, so goodbye until then," said Kabuto to the two other teens as he and Naruto began to walk away.

Sakura and Kiba also bid farewell, though her goodbye was verbal while his was a simple wave of the hand. After Naruto and Kabuto disappeared around a building corner, Sakura turned her head and said, "I guess we better get going too, Kiba."

"Yeah, I really don't want to bag crap for five dogs this week." He agreed.

The two began walking in the opposite direction, and they let a comfortable silence settle around them. When the silence was broken it was by Sakura, who had a pressing question for her companion.

"Hey, Kiba…?"

"What is it?"

"Did you tell Naruto yet?"

Confused by the question, Kiba inquired, "What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is have you told Naruto you love her?" Sakura clarified, greatly shocking Kiba by her knowledge of his feelings for the blonde girl.

"H-how did you know…?" he stammered while Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Everyone knows, Kiba. The only one who doesn't is Naruto, and she's really dense when it comes to romance."

After letting Kiba splutter and babble incoherently for a few more minutes, she repeated her question.

Once he let the situation sink in, Kiba deeply sighed and responded.

"No I didn't, and I'm not sure if I can tell her. We're best friends, and I don't want things getting weird between us if…" The last sentence was left unfinished, but what he meant to say was pretty clear to Sakura.

Sakura sighed as she gazed at Kiba, who was staring at the ground with a sad frown on his face. She really did sympathize with her friend; there was a lot to gain from him confessing to Naruto, but there was also a lot to lose from said confession. And the worst case scenario was that things between her and him would be so awkward that they couldn't even be friends anymore.

Still, Sakura was familiar with the feeling of unreciprocated love, and she wouldn't wish that on Kiba or their other friends.

"Look Kiba," She softly began, "I'm not going to force you to tell Naruto how you feel. But you really need to make up your mind whether to tell her; otherwise you may have to watch her find happiness with someone else, and you'll have no choice but to keep quiet."

Kiba flinched at the end of her speech, but still grew thoughtful over her words as he mulled them over in his head. He finally released a sigh and ripped his eyes from the pavement to the familiar blue skies above.

"Yeah…" he whispered so softly that Sakura had to strain to hear him, "I know…"

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

As Naruto and Kabuto walked to her house, he decided to engage the teenage girl in some light conversation.

"You have some very interesting friends, Naruto-kun."

"You mean Sakura-chan and Kiba? Yeah, they are pretty fun to hang out with, but they are not my only friends you know." Naruto said with a little spring in her step.

A curious Kabuto asked, "Really? What are your other friends like?"

"Do you want to listen to a _reeaally_ long explanation?"

"Humor me."

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." And then Naruto started her in-depth description of the unusual group called 'her friends'.

"Well, first there's Haku. He's a year older than the rest of us, but he's also the kindest and gentlest person I know. Haku's a great friend, even if he wears women's clothing. But I would rather go shopping with him than with Ino; _he_ doesn't put me in every skirt or dress that apparently '_suits_' me.

"Ino was actually Sakura-chan's friend first, but they stopped being friends around the third year of elementary school. It had something to do with a guy both of them liked, but I don't remember all the details. They're now friends again, but she and Sakura-chan still bicker from time to time. She's really into fashion and shopping, but is also great at parties.

"Shino was friends with Kiba first before the rest of us befriended him. He really likes to collect insects and study them at home. I thought he was really creepy at first, 'cuz he never really talks and always wears a pair of shades, but then I learned he was actually pretty nice. But don't ever call him 'creepy' or something like that, okay?"

"Don't worry, I won't." Kabuto reassured her.

"Good," Naruto sighed, relaxing at once, "Shino's sorta sensitive about how others think of him. He gets all gloomy and depressed."

"Well, we wouldn't want that to happen. Now, are Haku-kun, Ino-san, and Shino-kun all of your other friends?"

"No, not at all; I still haven't told you about Shikamaru and Chouji." Naruto pointed out.

"Shikamaru is definitely the smartest guy among us, and probably the smartest guy in our school. He's really lazy though; I've seen snails with more motivation to move around than him. But he's still a great friend, regardless. And Chouji's like a giant teddy bear; soft, cuddly, and a great listener when he's not focusing on eating. Just lay off on calling him f-a-t, and you'll be set."

"Hmm…" Kabuto had his right hand cradling his chin, soaking up all the information Naruto flung at him. "I must say, Naruto-kun, you have quite a diverse set of friends. Compared to my acquaintances, yours are much more… lively."

"Yeah, we really are a wacky bunch." Naruto concluded with a wide grin.

Silence followed her statement, allowing the two to just enjoy the walk and observe the scenery. But as they were approaching the end of the block, Kabuto began to hear something rather odd. A series of soft thumps along the pavement behind, sounding like something – or someone – was following them. And the strangest thing was, it sounded like there was more than one set of footsteps.

He turned around to check behind, but found – much to his surprise – that there was nothing there. Noticing her companion's stillness, Naruto also turned around and looked in the direction Kabuto was gazing at.

"What's wrong?" She asked, gaining his attention.

"I thought I heard something… never mind, it must have been my imagination."

"Oh, okay." Accepting the explanation, the young teen waited for Kabuto to turn around and start walking before doing the same. They hadn't gone more than thirty feet before Kabuto heard the strange sounds behind them again. And he wasn't the only one; Naruto heard them as well.

"Did you hear that?" Kabuto asked as he turned around to try to find the culprits. But just like last time, the only thing behind them was air.

"Yeah…" Naruto mumbled, getting a really suspicious feeling about the present scenario. "I think I know what's happening."

"You do?"

Nodding a confirmation, she turned to Kabuto and began beckoning him to come over. Curious, Kabuto stepped closer and got pulled down to Naruto's height by the shorter girl. Once his ear was more or less level with her mouth, she began to rapidly whisper into it.

"I see," he chuckled. "So that's the reason."

"Yup." Naruto answered with a wide grin.

"So I guess we should get going?"

"Uh-huh!"

The two resumed their stroll to her house, and before long they heard the mystery noise behind them again. But they continued their pace, not paying attention to the thuds that, as time went by, seemed to grow louder and closer.

Then, without any warning, Naruto spun around, pointed her index finger and shouted "Ah hah!"

In front of her were three junior high kids, who eeped at being discovered. Running for cover, the two boys dived behind a nearby telephone pole. The lone girl, however, decided to face the slightly awkward situation and greet the teenager.

"Hi, Naruto-neechan. How have you been?" she asked.

"I'm fine, Moegi, but why were you, Konohamaru, and Udon following us?" asked Naruto, but before Moegi could explain, she held up her hand to stop her. "Wait a minute; let me get a couple things first."

Kabuto and Moegi watched as Naruto walked over to the telephone pole the boys were behind and – much to their amusement – pulled the two out by the collars of their gakuran jackets.

"H-hello, Naruto-neechan." a nervous Udon stammered, fiddling with his glasses as he stared up at the older girl. He was glad to see her, but he also was aware of how impatient she could be.

Konohamaru, on the other hand, was less cautious with talking to his beloved pseudo-sibling. "You caught us, Naru-neechan! As I would expect from my rival!" He happily grinned at her.

Naruto gave a disbelieving snort at the twelve-year old; then turned back to Moegi.

"Alright, now you can tell us." she said.

"Well," Moegi began, "We haven't seen you in a while, so Konohamaru suggested we go to your school. But then we saw you and Sakura-neechan and Kiba-niichan talking with some stranger." Her eyes at this point tried to discreetly glance at Kabuto. He was aware of her stare, but was polite enough to not say anything.

"Konohamaru was suspicious, so we decided to follow you to make sure you would be okay." The young girl concluded.

"Really…" Naruto looked down at Konohamaru and Udon; the first boy now adopted a sheepish expression and scratched his head, while the second one nervously looked at his fearless leader.

"Look guys," she sighed, releasing her hold on the two. "Why would I be walking home with some guy if I didn't know him? I can take care of myself, you know."

"But the guy looked really creepy, I swear!" Konohamaru blurted out, freezing everyone by his outburst. Konohamaru himself stiffened once he realized the guy he just labeled 'creepy' was no more than a couple feet away.

Kabuto was rather stunned by how blunt the young boy was, and was even more shocked by his chaotic attempt to apologize.

"I'm sorry! It was- you know – and your outfit – and you were right next to her – and Kiba was –"

"All right, all right," Kabuto interrupted the rambling. "It's okay; I understand and accept your apology."

"You – you do?" a confused Konohamaru asked.

"Yes; you all were worried about Naruto and wanted to make sure she was okay," the older man explained. "By the way, I'm Kabuto Yakushi, and I've been working with Namikaze-san at the museum for the last month."

"Wait a minute!" Udon piped up, "Do you have anything to do with the special exhibit that's opening tomorrow?" His question gained the other pre-teen's attention, and Naruto waited patiently for Kabuto's answer.

"You're right, young man. My employer, the man who sponsored the excavation, sent me to make sure everything went smoothly." He sent the three kids a small smile to prove he meant no harm.

"Woah!" They exclaimed, looking at him with admiration.

"See? There was no need for the stalking, Konohamaru." Naruto told the young boy, looking at him with an arched eyebrow.

He nervously scratched the back of his head and weakly said, "Heh heh, sorry about all of that, Neechan."

"It's all right; hey, how about you guys come over for dinner?" she asked the trio.

"Eh? Really?" Konohamaru happily asked, eyes shining with hope and glee. Moegi and Udon also had matching expressions on.

"Why not? So long as you guys call your parents and Saru-jiji, I'm sure you can come." Naruto finished as she flashed them a wide, happy grin.

The three kids gladly shouted out their consent and hurried down the street to Naruto's house, leaving her and Kabuto behind.

"There's no dull moment with you and your friends, is there?" He asked as they hurried to catch up.

"Not really." She confirmed with a laugh.

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

Naruto walked into her room, dressed in a loose top and pajama pants while still drying her hair from her earlier bath. She flopped down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling for several minutes, and then released a sigh as she reminisced about a certain talk that happened earlier.

After dinner was over, Saru-jiji picked up Konohamaru and co., and Kabuto went back to his hotel, she went up to her room to attempt to finish her homework. As she was trudging through the science assignment given by the 'fun-sucker' (as a certain movie remake would put it) that was Kurenai Sarutobi, Naruto received a phone call. When she checked the screen, she noticed the call was from her older brother, Kurama.

Now Naruto and Kurama weren't people who suffered from sibling complexes; in fact, they weren't very close to each other at all. They did play together when they were young, but grew apart once he entered middle school. Also, Kurama wasn't exactly that kind older brother every kid wanted to have. He wasn't cruel, but he did treat his younger sister as an annoyance. And Naruto hated it when he would rub his ability to do things she couldn't do because he was older in her face.

With the all-apparent ambivalence that seemed to define their relationship, it was rather unexpected for him to call her, especially since he barely called home from college nowadays.

A little stunned, she picked up her touch phone and answered it.

"Hello?"

"_Naruto, it's me."_ A gruff, masculine voice stated.

"Yeah I know, Aniki. Haven't you heard of this brand new invention called 'Caller ID'?

A snort answered her sarcasm. _"Very funny, kit."_

"Stop calling me that! You know I hate that nickname."

"_Well you already look like a fox,"_ the older sibling began explaining, no doubt with a smirk plastered on, _"And since you're my __**little**__ sister, 'kit' is a perfect fit."_

Naruto was getting irritated by her brother's nonchalant attitude. It was stuff like this that made her glad he was a resident student at his university.

"So what do you want?" She asked, hoping to end the call as soon as possible.

"_I heard that they've exhibiting a newly found civilization back home?" _

"Huh? How do you know that? Did Mom tell you the news?"

"_She didn't have to; the news has been going on and on about it for a month."_ Kurama pointed out.

"Oh," Naruto distractedly murmured, doodling a little bowl of ramen next to her calculations for Boyle's Law. "And what does that have to do with me?"

"_Earlier today, Matatabi dragged me with her to see her… psychic."_ He drawled out, hesitating only on the word 'psychic'.

"What?! _You_ actually went to a _psychic_?!" The young girl was flabbergasted by what her brother just said. It was well known that Kurama believed firmly in science over superstition, and he treated matters like horoscopes, magic, and superstition with the same contempt given by all skeptics. He going to a psychic was probably the first sign of the Apocalypse.

"_I didn't __**go**__ to one of those charlatans," _an irritated Kurama corrected, _"I was __**dragged**__ there by one woman who can be just as annoying as you can."_

"Ha ha, very funny. So how did it go?" Naruto asked with interest.

"_Well, we arrived at the psychic's shop, which I think would do better as a costume store and were greeted by the owner herself. The woman certainly looked the part; long scraggy hair, gypsy-styled clothes, gaudy jewelry, the works. Matatabi introduced us, and sat down for her palm-reading. I decided to just stand around and ignore everything until it was time to go. Then out of nowhere Matatabi forces me in the chair across the fake and asked her for my reading."_

"Pff," the teenager snorted, "I'm surprised you didn't just bolt right then."

"_Believe me, I would have if I could,"_ the college student retorted,_ "But Matatabi has a grip as strong as Mom's, along with the determination to get a skeptic like me to go through the session. Besides, we took her car there, and I rather not become a target for revenge after stealing her car and leaving her to walk back."_

"Huh. So what did she say?"

"_I barely listened to what came out of her mouth."_ Kurama grunted in response, _"As soon as she began laying down tarot cards, my brain had the decency to zone out. I didn't hear most of the bullshit coming out of that swindler's mouth, until she mentioned something about you."_

Naruto was confused by what her brother just said. "Me? Why would she do that? Do you or Mata-neechan mention me before?"

"_No. I certainly didn't, and Matatabi was just as surprised when the psychic asked me if I had a sister around sixteen years old. Suspicious, I asked her why and she pointed to the last card on the table, the one supposed to interpret my 'future'. She then said the card, in its upright position, represented great change that will happen. Apparently a recent discovery would coincide with a great change in my family, and may transcend in, as she put it, 'A new understanding of who we all are.'"_

"Wow…" she whispered, stunned yet slightly awed by what she just heard.

"_Well I thought she was crazy, and told her that right to her face," _he snarled as he remembered, _"She didn't say anything back, just sitting there looking like she knew I was going to say that. Matatabi and I finally began leaving the shop, but before we went out the front door, she called out 'Don't forget to warn Naruto to be careful on her trip tomorrow.'"_

"She actually said that…?" Now Naruto was feeling uneasy. While she wasn't the biggest believer of the supernatural in the world (her enduring fear of ghosts aside), she was becoming convinced that the psychic her brother saw wasn't just another con artist that he claimed all psychics were; she was the real deal.

"_Naruto, you better not do anything stupid at the museum tomorrow."_ Kurama warned.

The young girl felt a smirk trying to break out on her face. "What's that, Aniki? You are taking the words of a psychic seriously? What's next; you'll go on a quest to capture forest sprites in the woods?" She teased.

"_Damn it, Naruto! This is not a fucking joke!"_ Kurama angrily yelled, causing Naruto to drop her phone, making it clatter when it hit the desk. She picked it up with shaky hands, and with fear of arousing her brother's anger again, she placed the phone against her ear and waited for him to speak.

After heavily breathing for a few minutes, Kurama seemed to try to calm down. When he began talking again, his voice was lower, and his tone softer; maybe even pleading.

"_Look, Naruto; you know I don't believe it all of this mystical crap. To me, things like superstitions and magic are just the by-products of the past that are no longer needed by us anymore. Just… just please; please be careful tomorrow."_

Naruto remained quiet, trying to fully make sense of the current situation. This was the first time she ever heard him sound so… pleading. He never begged for anything since they were kids; not even if he really wanted something that their parents refused to get him. That fact that he was nearly begging her to do something was pretty surreal. And, for some reason, she felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in her heart.

"Alright," she softly said, "I promise I'll be careful."

"_You promise to?"_ Kurama's voice was still soft, but it sounder steadier than before.

"Yeah, Aniki; I promise. And you know how I feel about promises."

"_Yeah,"_ he started chuckling, _"You'll keep them no matter what."_

"So… are you okay?" she couldn't help asking.

"_Of course I'm okay,"_ he sniffed, his voice having regained its usual self-confidence and strength. _"It's not like I'm some hyperactive knucklehead girl."_

"Hey, I grew out of that phase!"

"_Not by much,"_ Kurama teased, chuckling as he imagined the pout that was surely on her face. _"Well, I guess I'll see you and the parentals next visit?"_

"You bet; good night, Aniki."

"_Good night."_

Now, as she was getting ready to go to sleep, Naruto couldn't help but review the previous conversation she had with her brother. It was rather nice to hear his concern for her safety, but Kurama's whole experience today was rather strange. The fact he even stepped foot in a psychic shop was surreal in itself; but the tarot card reading and the psychic actually talking about her was extremely weird.

'_How did she know my name? Both neither Aniki nor Mata-neechan would have told her; and I don't think any of their other friends who have heard of me go to that shop. And what did she mean by "great change"? What am I supposed to do?'_

The psychic's predictions just didn't make sense, and the comments she made to her brother were disconcerting. But they weren't the only weird issues that Naruto was thinking about – recently, she had been having some strange dreams as well.

Due to her sometimes overactive imagination, Naruto would occasionally have very vivid and wondrous dreams. Her favorite one was her swimming in a pool filled with ramen.

But the dreams she was now having weren't anything like that. They would begin in places she never even been to: a dry, endless desert; a large bedroom lavished with jewels, ornate furniture and bright, luxurious fabrics; and a breathtaking garden that seemed to have the same designer as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. And the various sceneries weren't the only difference; Naruto would find herself in beautiful but strange clothes, such as a flowing linen dress and a decorative veil on her head. There was one common theme that tied them all together, though.

As she meandered around, trying to figure out where she was, a voice called out behind her. The voice was strong and commanding, but there was a smooth and seductive tone present that she couldn't help but feel enticed by. She was even more attracted by how the voice would say her name: in a soft, velvety caress that caused both nervousness and excitement to rush through her veins.

But when she turned around to see who was calling, the dream abruptly stopped and she would wake up. This happened every time, and it would take hours before she would fall back asleep (draining some of her signatory endless energy and making it harder to stay awake the next day).

Now she was getting the idea that the predictions and dreams were connected, but no matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn't see why. Groaning out her frustration, Naruto decided to just go to bed and leave everything for later. As she drifted away to sleep, she softly sighed and let one silent plea remain in her head.

'_Please let me get the ramen dream tonight…'_

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

"Are we there yet?"

"I already told you, Kiba; no, we are not there yet!"

All of class 2-D was aboard a coach bus traveling to the local museum, which actually was as large as some of the Smithsonian museums in America, and thus was located near the city limits (a long way from the city center).

Even an event like a field trip didn't stop the teenagers from their usual habits and actions. For example, Naruto and her friends (minus Haku) were busy with their normal routine: Chouji was munching on potato chips; Shikamaru was catching up on his sleep, even if he napped more than a housecat; Ino and Sakura were arguing about who was the cutest male idol featured in Ino's magazine; Shino was absorbed in an insect identification guide he borrowed from his father; and Naruto and Kiba were working on Iruka-sensei's last nerve.

"C'mon Iruka-sensei, when are we gonna get there?" Naruto whined, bored out of her mind.

"We'll get there when we'll get there. Now do me a favor and SHUT UP!" He roared back, trying to preserve his ever-disappearing sanity; a feat hard to achieve when trapped with a bunch of noisy, hormone-driven teenagers in an enclosed space.

Sensing his ire, Naruto decided to leave him alone this time. She looked over to Kiba, who was listening to music on his iPhone and reading the latest issue of Shounen Jump.

"Kiba," she called, but he didn't hear her. She then switched to repeatedly poking him in the arm and calling his name, but still got no response. Getting rather impatient, Naruto yanked out one of the earbuds and yelled right in his ear.

"KIBA!"

"YEOWCH!" he cried out and covered his ear to prevent further damage. And the ringing finally dissipated, he angrily turned in his seat and asked her, "What the hell, Naruto?"

"I was trying to get your attention, but you didn't hear me." Naruto said in what some would claim a whining tone.

"Alright, so what do you want?"

"Can you give me one of the manga volumes you brought along? I'm bored and there's no one to talk to." Naruto explained.

"Wha? What about Sakura?" he asked.

"She's chatting with Ino about some dumb idol."

"Chouji?"

"Shikamaru just woke up and they're talking too."

"Shino, then?"

"Reading a book."

"I know; Haku!"

"Kiba, he's not even in our year." She pointed out, looking at him incredulously.

Kiba scratched his head and laughed uncomfortably. "Oh yeah, that's right…"

"And don't even mention Ero-jiji; he's too busy trying to get into his seatmate's pants." Rather shocked by her statement, Kiba glanced in the direction pointed out by her index finger to where Jiraiya sat. And found she was exactly right; Jiraiya was heavily flirting with one of the female chaperones that made the mistake of sitting next to him. The lady was trying to do the whole 'grin and bear it' routine, but she seem to be losing her patience with the old man.

"Wow. Do you think she's gonna just ignore it? He inquired.

"Nope. I bet she'll slap him in about three, two, one…"

'**SMACK!'**

"OUCH!" hollered the old pervert, no doubt in pain.

"Man, you really got that down to a tee." An impressed Kiba said.

"Yeah, yeah…" Naruto mumbled disinterestedly. _'Should that be a good thing or a bad thing?'_

Before she could pester Kiba for a magazine again, he turned his head to look out the window and said, "Hey, I think we're almost there!"

His female friend perked up at that. "Really; we are?"

"See for yourself." Taking his advice, Naruto leaned over to see while Kiba shifted back in his seat to let her. There was a large building in the distance that got more into focus as they drove closer. On the front were two colorful banners: both had phrases written in Arabic print and had their English and Japanese translations. The right banner read as 'Ghalamro-ye Saraab', and the left was 'A'assemat El Saharah'. Soon they drove up to the entrance and moved onto the parking lot, which looked like it was nearly filled to capacity.

"Geez, I know Mom said there'll be a lot of people coming, but I didn't think it would be _this_ packed." Naruto softly said, taken aback by the sheer number of vehicles.

Kiba agreed. "Yeah, you can say that again."

After a few minutes of searching, the driver found a spot and parked in it. Iruka got up from his seat and turned to the students and the other adults, but find that they were still talking amongst themselves or preoccupied with other things. He cleared his throat several times but only a few students heard him and looked. Getting fed up with the lackluster response; Iruka dug through his pants pocket and pulled out an old tape recorder. After inserting some ear plugs, he turned up the volume to the max and pressed the play button.

"SHUT UP!" The recorded voice blared throughout the bus, shattering conversations and jarring everyone seated. Even the ones who did pay attention to their teacher were unprepared. Thoroughly rattled, everyone turned their attention to Iruka, who was looking down at the tape recorder in his hand with surprised content.

"Huh; I need to remember to thank Anko for this," he mused. Then he put it away as he addressed the students and chaperones. "Before we get off, there are a few things that we have to go over. First of all, we are going to meet with Namikaze-san and Yakushi-san in the lobby. They'll introduce us to our guide and lay down the museum rules. Our guide will then lead us through the exhibit and tell us of the archeological findings. After the tour you'll be able to look around the exhibit or go to the others, but remember this: we are going to leave in about two hours, so meet up in the front lobby before then. Are there any questions?"

"No, Iruka-sensei," the students said, while the adults let their silence be their answer.

"Alright; let's go." Iruka and the others got up and left the bus once the doors of the bus opened, and navigated through the vehicles in the parking lot and crowds of people on the sidewalk. They climbed the large stone steps and went through the glass doors to enter the front lobby, where they were greeted by a happy Kushina Namikaze and a smiling Kabuto Yakushi.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Konoha museum!"

* * *

**-****日本シェヘラザード****-**

**Man, this was a looooong chapter. If anyone thinks that this chapter is too long or complicated, it wasn't what I intended when I wrote the outline. Though it was three hand-written pages long… actually, this chapter deviates a little from the outlines in a few places.**

**I hope you all were fine with all the one-sided KibaFemNaru fluff/smut in this chapter. I was trying to show that Kiba is attracted to and cares for Naruto, even if she is dense about his romantic feelings.**

**I'm sorry if Kurama seems like a jerk, but I was trying to keep to his canon personality as close as possible. However, just because he seems distant doesn't mean he doesn't care about his little sister; he just shows his affection through his teasing, and Kurama is actually protective of Naruto at times. So don't hate me, Kurama fans!**

**Now onto the cultural/explanation notes:**

**Mosque – Similar to churches for Christians and synagogues for Jews, mosques are places of worship for Muslims.**

**Hijab – A veil worn by Muslim women when they were around unrelated men or in public. It actually refers to two things: the actual veil or, as Wikipedia put it, "a metaphysical dimension". The veil is considered an embodiment of a woman's "modesty, privacy, and morality" (Wiki; Hijab). Men can also observe hijab, though the practices can range from covering their belly buttons and knees and everything in between, to just not wear anything that was considered too feminine. For more information about this, you should consult an Islamic scholar or just google it.**

**Niqāb – As Sakura explained, a niqāb is a veil that covers most of the face, with most styles leaving the eyes uncovered. It's also worn around unrelated men and in public, but it is optional.**

_**Animal Farm**_** – An allegorical novel written by George Orwell that parodies the Russian Revolution of 1917 and part of the Stalin era in the Soviet Union. Each character or group of characters represented the people or social classes that were present during that time. The pigs, for example, represented the people who gained power after overthrowing Tsar Nicholas II and the rest of the Russian royal family, but they (with a few exceptions) become the humans they had overthrown in the end. I wouldn't put it past Sakura to read a novel like this; after all, she is really smart.**

**Cleaning duties – In schools located in Japan, the students clean up their classroom instead of the janitor. The students take turns with cleaning duty, though some students foist it on others (usually bullies with their targets). So the next time you meet your school janitor thank them for cleaning up your mess, because it may not be the case all around the world.**

**Gakuran – This, along with the sailor fuku (uniform) for girls, is one of the many outfits famous among anime otakus (A.K.A. geeks) and japanophiles. It is the uniform for many male students in middle school and high school. An interesting trivia fact is that the second button from the top is given to the girl that the boy's in love with after graduation, because that button is the closest to the heart. For a photo of the gakuran, just google the word.**

**Neechan – An informal honorific normally given to older sisters, but can also be given to women you've just met if they're in their twenties.**

**Niichan – An informal honorific given to older brothers or men you know if they are in their twenties.**

**Hanging Gardens of Babylon – One of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, and the only one whose exact location is still sketchy. One source claims that the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II constructed the gardens for his wife, who was homesick for the mountains. There is no archeological evidence of the gardens having existed, so some consider it to just be legend.**

**Idols – In Japan, idols are celebrities heavily featured in the media. The original idols were attractive women in their teens and twenties and are commonly said to represent female perfection for Japanese society; basically, they're sex symbols. Male idols became more commonplace after the boy band Arashi started to get more popularity, and the biggest male idol talent agency is Johnny & Associates, Inc.**

**Manga magazines and volumes – Manga is a type of comic print from Japan (which should not be confused with manwha of South Korea or manhua of China and Taiwan). It has been compared to Western comic books at times, but there are marked differences between the two. One difference is publishing. While comic book artists publish their works already in volumes, mangakas – the people who create manga – publish their work in magazines that have other manga series. These magazines are quite thick, and target a certain demographic. For example, Shounen Jump (which is a real magazine) is for the demographic of boys aged 10-18. So the manga series and advertisements published were for those boys. Anyway, if the mangaka creates multiple chapters of the same story, those chapters would be released in a tankōbon volume. And the more chapters there were, the more tankōbon volumes were released.**

**Ghalamro-ye Saraab – Farsi for 'Mirage Kingdom'. This is actually the pronunciation; the phrase in Arabic script is **قلمروی سراب**.**

**A'assemat El Saharah – Arabic for 'the capital of sorcerers' or 'the metropolis of wizards'. The actual phrase is **عاصمة السحرة**.**

**Thanks again to Narukia and Princess of Persian Rugs for all of their help, thanks to Wikipedia and Google for becoming my lifeline, and I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter. Please leave reviews!**


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